Car in Care

2009 Cadillac CTS-V - Road Test

2008-09-06T20:39:00.000-07:00

Seen here is what is likely the Camaro SS!! It was spotted by one of our members with his cellphone in Mesa, AZ, outside the GM proving grounds. It is being tested concurrently with other similarly configured Camaros in the GM proving grounds. From what we can see, the car's distinguishing body work includes the black hood stripe and hockey stripes running down the sides of the car.Wow. Very wow. With enough treatment they can even make white tolerable. Whistling? Is someone inferring forced induction on the only V8 option available at launch? I'd be pretty surprised....

Camaros have always had striping / decals available as far as I know. I hope they take their time and don't make them tremendously cheesy like some of the new MOPAR flat black / hugely orange peel textured Stang ones (how did they mess up stickers......). I like the placement so far at least. Woulda gone with red or hugger orange on the white car but we'll wait and see. Looks great
V for Vendetta: Cadillac makes the jump from knuckle dragger to sophisticate in one leap.

You knew GM had finally gotten serious in 2004 when it offered a Cadillac that only came with a manual transmission.

In a move that probably cost the company quite a few sales to the gridlock-challenged and performance poseurs, the first-generation CTS-V (2004–07) came exclusively with a six-speed stick. Think about that for a minute. The last time a Caddy was offered without an automatic option was in 1942.

What had Cadillac wrought? In our initial road test [March 2004], we informally pitted that first-generation CTS-V against the contemporary BMW M3 and M5. Although that CTS-V lacked refinement and had its share of warts, we were suitably impressed with the GM luxury division’s first serious attempt at building a bona-fide Bavarian-style supersedan. A later comparison [“Executive Adrenalators,” November 2004] placed the CTS-V ahead of a Mercedes-Benz C55 AMG but behind an Audi S4.

Since that first CTS-V, Cadillac has rolled out other V-series products, and each one has solidified and legitimized the future of the very young performance brand. As the first of the V-series products to enter its second generation, the 2009 CTS-V is 4292 pounds of proof that the days of GM letting ordinary cars languish for years and discontinuing performance models just as they achieve a whiff of greatness seem to be in the past. The General now appears committed to evolving product, amellorating flaws, and creating competitive vehicles.

Built upon an evolution of the same Sigma architecture as the original, the CTS-V rides on the same 113.4-inch wheelbase but is fractionally larger in track, width, and length. Despite a couple of weight-saving measures—an aluminum hood and forged aluminum wheels—curb weight is up by a considerable 385 pounds, to a grand total of 4292 for our giant-sunroof-equipped, fully loaded manual-transmission test vehicle. (Fun fact: That’s a mere 109 pounds lighter than the Toyota Highlander in this issue’s SUV comparo.) And yet, like the nearly 4000-pound Nissan GT-R, the Cadillac somehow suspends the laws of gravity.

A big part of the Newtonian bitch slap is the 556-hp, supercharged 6.2-liter V-8. Dubbed LSA, the Caddy engine could be considered a slightly detuned version of the ZR1’s 638-hp LS9, but its titanium-free valvetrain and connecting rods and its conventional wet-sump oil system actually make it more akin to a supercharged version of the standard Corvette 6.2-liter.
Transmitting the power to the road is a Tremec TR6060 six-speed manual gearbox that exhibits crisp low-effort shifts and rights the wrongs of the previous generation’s shifter that had the grace of a shoulder popping in and out of its socket. The two-disc clutch offers excellent modulation and light effort that escaped the previous CTS-V. For those who’d rather let the car do the work, there is now an optional six-speed automatic with steering-wheel-mounted paddle shifters.

2010 Honda Insight Official Photos and Info - Car News

2008-09-06T20:27:00.000-07:00

Honda all-new hybrid takes direct aim at the Toyota Prius.

Honda was the first automaker to put a hybrid on the road with the original Insight in December 1999 and it wants to reclaim its place at the big kids table with the resurrection of the name on an all-new hybrid.

The automaker provides this first official look at the five-door hatch that will be formally unveiled in October at the 2008 Paris auto show. It will technically be a concept, but appears more than production-ready.

The Insight rides on an all-new platform as a bespoke hybrid, as opposed to offering a hybrid version of an existing vehicle as is the case with the current Honda Civic hybrid and the Honda Fit hybrid planned by 2015.

The Insight will be smaller than a Civic and CEO Takeo Fukui says it will be priced significantly below current hybrids. We expect it to start about $19,000, in keeping with the automakers goal of pricing it competitively against conventional small vehicles in its segment. This new Insight will break new ground as an affordable hybrid within the reach of customers who want great fuel economy and great value,â€ Fukui says in a statement.

The on-sale date for the Insight is April 22”Earth Day”and the automaker is projecting global annual sales of 200,000, half of which are for the North American market. But Honda is known for erring on the conservative side, and given that it will go head-to-head with the Toyota Prius, which has sold almost 120,000 in the first eight months of this year in the U.S. alone, we would not be surprised to see Honda exceed these modest forecasts.

In looks, the new hatch bears a familial resemblance to Honda's other poster car for alternative fuels”the FCX Clarity fuel-cell vehicle, but the Insight also shares an aerodynamically raked front, stubby tail, and an overall profile with the Prius. Both offer five-passenger seating and plenty of cargo space inside a relatively small body. The Insightâ€™s folding rear seats further accentuate the cargo hold.

In terms of propulsion, the Insight gets a smaller, lighter”and less-expensive”version of Honda's Integrated Motor Assist hybrid system that is in the Civic. The smaller pack of nickel-metal-hydride batteries is stored under the trunk floor. Honda says lithium-ion batteries aren't yet a viable option.

Honda officials in the U.K. have been quoted as saying the new hybrid will achieve 60 mpg, but that is on the higher-yield Euro cycle.

The Insight will be built on a new assembly line at Honda's Suzuka, Japan, plant, which currently builds the Civic hybrid. It is the first of a hybrid onslaught that also calls for production of the CR-Z hybrid sports car concept shown at the 2007 Tokyo auto show, a new Honda Civic hybrid, and the addition of the Fit hybrid”all by 2015, at which point the automaker's goal is to be selling half a million hybrids per year globally.

Toyota will sell its next-generation Prius as a 2010 model, also with nickel-metal-hydride batteries. The successor is expected to be larger then the current model. Lexus likely will show a new hybrid, as well, at the Detroit auto show next January.

Honda used to have an Accord hybrid in its lineup, but it was dropped at the end of the 2007 model year due to slow sales, attributed partly to the fact that the hybrid didn't look much different than a regular Accord. The other problem was the hybrid wasn't much more fuel-efficient than a conventional Accord with a four-cylinder, making it hard to justify an extra $6000 for the electric motor.

Top 10 Most Beautiful Cars for 2009 (#2)

2008-08-28T07:58:00.000-07:00

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5. 2009 Pontiac Solstice Coupe

Though most of the cars in this group are rather costly, beautiful cars are not the exclusive domain of the rich. For proof, we submit Pontiac’s upcoming Solstice coupe. Little more than a Solstice convertible with a bit more sheetmetal and cargo space, the Solstice coupe joins the Cayman in proving that more is indeed more when it comes to beauty. With well-integrated rear flanks, a radius-edged liftback window and a double-bubble targa top, the hardtop corrects the Solstice convertible’s greatest flaw: its wretched fabric roof, which neither fits nor looks right. Thus equipped, the Solstice is easy on the eye from any angle, and at an estimated $25K when it hits the market early next year, it’ll be pretty easy on the wallet, too.
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4. 2009 Aston Martin V-8 Vantage

It is entirely accurate to consider Aston Martin’s little V-8 Vantage a seven-eighths-scale DB9. Roughly the same size as a Nissan 350Z and only a little bit quicker, the V-8 Vantage is nonetheless much, much pricier. So how can Aston get away with charging $80,000 more for the V-8 Vantage? Simple: the V-8 Vantage is absolutely gorgeous. With the same long-hood, short-deck formula as its larger sibling, but with a slightly different styling edge in the form of large wheels and a ducktail tush, the V-8 Vantage offers a rarely achieved balance of beauty and sportiness, proving that classic GT proportions are indeed scalable.

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3. 2009 Maserati GranTurismo

Few brand names in the automobile business—or any business, for that matter—can match the bitchy prosodic fabulousness of “Maserati.” And few cars in the world can match the voluptuous regality of Maserati’s GranTurismo. In other words, it’s beautiful whether you’re saying it or seeing it. Compared with the similarly designed (long hood, front-midship engine layout) Aston Martin DBS, the GranTurismo succeeds not with ornamentation but through the emotional, almost whimsical curvature of its plus-sized body. The fact that a raucous, Ferrari-derived V-8 resides under the long hood is just icing on one helluva beautiful cake.
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2. 2009 Aston Martin DBS

Short of poaching the entire design staff from BMW, Aston Martin couldn’t design an ugly car if it put the wheels on the roof. And its newest flagship, the DB9-based DBS, is one of the most beautiful Astons yet. At more than $260,000, it’s just about the most expensive, too, until the million-dollar One-77 is unveiled, anyway. Carbon fiber is the dominant material for the body of this quintessential gentleman’s grand-tourer, and its brilliant, classical proportions are blessed with better curves than a Bond girl and a more chiseled jaw than Double-O himself. Embellishing those big hips and shoulders are details to die for (another day, presumably), including lacy 20-inch wheels, upward-swinging doors, and perfectly situated, fully functional ducts and grilles. The DBS blends form and function at the highest level. And you don’t have to be Q to appreciate that.

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1. 2009 Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione

Purity of form—billowing fenders, teardrop windows, and almondine headlamps, among other things—and the perfect positioning of details are what makes the 8C so sexy. Its wheels, for example, are already regarded by our staff as among the 10 hottest, and its lower air intakes could quite possibly bring the moustache back in vogue. Given the shapely sheetmetal, it hardly even matters, but what’s underhood is nearly as splendid as the wrapper: a sonorous 4.7-liter V-8 that is closely related to that found in another car on this list, the Maserati GranTurismo, as well as several Ferraris.

Most Americans currently don’t know—nor care one way or another—about Alfa Romeo’s plans to return to the U.S. But anyone lucky enough to lay their eyes on the brilliant 8C Competizione that is leading the charge will be darn glad Alfa’s back. Why? Because this is beauty.

Top 10 Most Beautiful Cars for 2009 (#1)

2008-08-28T07:28:00.000-07:00

Our 10 picks for the tastiest eye candy on sale in the U.S. today.

“A thing of beauty is a joy forever: Its loveliness increases; it will never pass into nothingness.” – John Keats

Beauty, indeed, is a powerful thing. Specific though it may be to the observer, to each one of us, beauty has an intoxicating power that affects our judgment, blinds us to shortcomings, and in many a case, provokes lust.

Troll the lawn of any major concours d’élégance and you’ll see that old Johnny was right on the money. A beautiful car is a thing to be savored, treasured, and preserved. Why else would people display their cars on the concours if not for the flowing beauty of their sheetmetal? Why else would we sink so much time, effort, and money into an inanimate object if it didn’t look back at us with such a wanton, animate gaze?

To a great many of us, a beautiful car planted the seeds for a lifelong addiction to all things automotive, and these 10 cars are bound to incite a few automotive addictions of their own. They are the leggy supermodels of the auto industry, cars that make their first impression with exceeding beauty (save the first pair, which are a different sort of lovely), and for the purposes of this story, that’s all that matters. Of course, there are many other cars that can be considered stunning, hot, cool, eye-catching, alluring, or any manner of highly suggestive descriptor, but few can be considered timelessly beautiful as Keats might define it. These 10 are.

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10. 2009 Lotus Elise/2009 Ariel Atom

Beauty is not always purely a matter of the aesthetic. To those more technically-minded (as are several of our editors—Csaba, VanderWerp, you know who you are), beauty can be a more cerebral, associative, objective factor. Although the eensy, insectile Lotus Elise and the skeletal Ariel Atom are not necessarily beautiful in the traditional sense, the fact that they weigh next to nothing yet offer more power than many sport-utilities can make a math-minded car enthusiast drool at the sight of their unconventional bodies like Pavlov’s dogs in a bell factory. We’re talking 0 to 60 mph in 4.5 seconds for the 2000-lb Elise, and three seconds flat in the 1400-lb, 245-hp Atom (a 300-hp model is also available). You don’t have to be a spreadsheet to get turned on by that.

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9. 2009 Audi R8

Before the R8, the thought of Audi building a credible supercar was audacious enough. That it could make one that would be so arousingly beautiful was simply unfathomable. But with the R8, Audi has brought the world a car that both performs like a true supercar and is sculpted in double-take sheetmetal. Certainly helpful is the fact that Audi owns Lamborghini, and thus has proven supercar innards—in this instance, those of the Gallardo—at its disposal, as well as a number of excellent powertrains capable of launching the aluminum-bodied sexpot forward as if it was shot out of a cannon. All that was left, then, was to wrap it in something beautiful. And that, Audi did.

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8. 2009 Porsche Cayman

The Boxster is bitchin’, but the Cayman is beautiful. Yes, they’re more or less the same car, but the Cayman proves that there’s something about a well-rendered roof that takes a good-looking car and drops it off at the doorstep of gorgeous. In our book, it is just as purposeful but even more sexy than—dare we say it?—its big brother, the legend itself, the Porsche 911 Carrera.

Blessed as it is with balanced mid-engine proportions, roof contours that drip down into the swollen fenders, and a smart, determined gaze, the Cayman makes its driver look as good as he feels. And as we’ve said many times before, when you drive one, you feel pretty good.

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7. 2009 Mercedes-Benz CLS-Class

Beauty is seldom encountered among four-doors, since, in the car world, accumulating doors usually means subtracting style. But the Mercedes-Benz CLS-class proves that sedans can be beautiful, too. Sure, the CLS cheats a bit, achieving its captivating looks by incorporating some coupe-derived design elements such as a low, chopped roof and slim windows, and this translates into a cramped rear seat that only holds two people—short people. This car is best enjoyed from the outside, where light streaks over specular, arching body contours like shooting stars. It is at once delightfully simple yet wonderfully extravagant, and we celebrate it as an experiment in style that went very, very well. Fast forward to Pebble Beach 2058, and you can bet there will be a CLS or two on the lawn.

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6. 2009 Audi S5

Current Audi/Lamborghini/SEAT design chief Walter de'Silva has designed a lot of beautiful cars during his illustrious career. But even after designing the mouthwatering Audi R8, de'Silva himself called the Audi S5, along with its less-powerful, somewhat more subdued A5 twin, the most beautiful car he has ever penned.

One of the most passionate designs ever to come out of Germany, the S5 wears a perfect balance of masculine and feminine elements, mixing a strong, assertive gaze with elegantly flowing fenders and a thick fuselage offset with delicate brightwork. Sporty accents to the S5 include a squared-off chin, subtle sill extensions, a slightly longer decklid, and four wonderfully vocal tailpipes, all without detracting from the coupe’s innate beauty. Best of all, it sets the tone for the styling of Audi’s lineup henceforth. Lucky us.

2009 Dodge Ram 1500

2008-08-26T07:37:00.000-07:00

If you’re lookin’ for a manly ride, it gets no manlier than the Dodge Ram. And for 2009, Dodge steps up the macho with bossy new sheetmetal and a more powerful Hemi V-8. But during a brief preview spin, we discovered that the Ram 1500 also has been tamed by heaps of refinement.

That’s right, refinement. A complete interior overhaul brings sophisticated gauges, soft-touch materials, and plenty of brightwork to the cabin. A new crew-cab model was added to supplement the shorter Quad Cab model, offering a rear seat with a proper seatback angle as well as standard in-floor storage bins. As such, even the base Ram is no torture chamber, and the Laramie has as much top-stitched, chrome-dipped dressiness as the now dead Lincoln Mark LT.

Of course, a pickup’s primary job is to carry, not coddle. Storage spaces abound: under the rear seats; in the doors, the center console, and the dual glove boxes; and within the new drainable, lockable “RamBox” bins in the bed walls.

Should you ever end up using the bed itself, you may put the new coil-spring rear suspension to the test only to find that Dodge indeed did its homework here: Payload capacity is retained, but ride quality is vastly improved. There is still some steering-wheel shimmy over rough patches, but next to the Ram’s competitors—examples of each were brought along for brief comparison drives—it’s the lamb of the group, so to speak.

Underhood, improved breathing helps raise the 5.7-liter Hemi V-8’s output to 390 horsepower (from 345) and 407 pound-feet of torque (from 375). Thus equipped, it accelerates forcefully and pulls race or boat trailers easily. Meanwhile, cylinder deactivation allows the Hemi’s fuel economy to match that of the mid-level 310-hp, 4.7-liter V-8 and come within 10 percent of the base 215-hp, 3.7-liter V-6.

Certainly, this isn’t an easy time to launch a full-size pickup. But the way Dodge spins it, to sell trucks in this market, it’s best to have the freshest one around. Put that way, we suppose the 2009 Ram is right on time.

2009 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1

2008-08-25T08:36:00.000-07:00

Back in 2004, GM rolled the last steaming clod of asphalt onto its Milford Road Course (MRC), a 2.9-mile handling circuit at the company’s proving grounds an hour northwest of Detroit. The “Lutzring,” as employees have dubbed it in honor of GM’s meat-eating vice-chairman, Robert Lutz, plunges 135 feet from hilltop to trough and was pieced together like bathroom plumbing from some of the more treacherous corners in motorsports. The 20 elbows, kinks, and blind whoop-de-dos are crowned by the 45-degree banked “Toilet Bowl,” which resembles the Nürburgring’s Karussell and which has already had its guardrails replaced at least twice. Only 16 of GM’s 266,000 employees are permitted to drive the MRC.

Naturally, a man-eating track you’ve never seen before is just the place you want to be in a 638-hp Corvette you’ve never driven before.

Speaking of Corvettes, our February 2008 cover story on the new supercharged ZR1 all but supplied you with blueprints to build your own. Hoping to squeeze the slavering media like ripe kumquats for more ink, GM invited us to the Lutzring for a brief half-day nibble of the $105,000 ZR1 before the full feast of testing commences this fall. Obviously, the gambit worked.

The track’s nefarious reputation notwithstanding, the ZR1 is just the aluminum-frame, carbon-fiber-paneled, balsa-wood-floored Corvette Z06 with afterburners, right? Which means it will be a little vague in the steering and a bit floppy at the apex but basically fun and, above all, safe. Turn up the A/C, tune in the XM, and let the electronics make us heroes on a track where something like 265,984 people dare not tread.

Certainly, the ZR1’s cockpit has the familiar Bat Cave atmosphere of the regular Corvette, except for the manifold-pressure gauge where the voltage meter normally lives. That, and the carbon-fiber hood’s window, which lets you watch the engine twitch in rhythm to the gas pedal. So far, so what?

Then, while exiting the pits on our first lap, the ZR1’s 6.2-liter LS9 V-8 suddenly cracked the heavens with a feral wolf call. The accelerative g’s rolled into us like the breakers of a Category Five, and breathing became strangely difficult. Uh-oh.

Turn One of the Lutzring starts as a long, seemingly predictable sweeper. Then it kinks inward, then jerks straight, then suddenly cramps in again before lurching up a blind hill that death-drops the car into a ditch. After that you’re tossed over another blind crest with a negative camber pitched to slide the Corvette sideways into next Christmas. Assuming the car doesn’t go airborne.

In the ensuing Toilet Bowl, there were safety cones—which we scattered, ingesting some and dragging others to the next turn, which looked suspiciously like the patch that claimed Jimmy Clark. Then our first lap got uglier. There were screams.

Here’s what we learned: The ZR1 is about as suitable for a Lutzring virgin as an alcohol-fueled Funny Car is for driver’s ed.
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2009 Hyundai Genesis 4.6

2008-08-25T08:20:00.000-07:00

We must first invoke a temporary vocabulary-restraining order: At no time will the term luxury sports sedan be used to describe this car. At least not by us. Luxury, yes, and sedan, obviously. But sports, nope, sorry, we’re putting that appellation on hold.

If you’ve already checked the specifications, you may wonder why we post the proviso. The Genesis looks pretty formidable on paper, particularly with the optional 4.6-liter V-8 engine, and a lot of people in the Hyundai organization think their new car measures up pretty well against sporting stalwarts from BMW, Mercedes, and Audi. A clue to their conviction can be seen in the Genesis promotional literature, which is sprinkled with “sports sedan” references.

There’s no question that, in general, Hyundai’s development team checked the right boxes for their ambitious leap to this high-stakes, high-profit game. However, this isn’t really a huge surprise because, after all, they had a script, written by Toyota for the development of the 1989 Lexus LS400. So the formula is one that’s now familiar: respectable performance, decent quality, and lots of features wrapped in attractive sheetmetal at an even more attractive price.

That last—pricing—has been the key to Hyundai’s remarkable progress since it made its first appearance in the U.S. market in 1985 with the Excel, which was loosely related to the Mitsubishi Mirage and also sold as the Mitsubishi Precis. With a 0-to-60-mph time of 16.3 seconds, our test crew called the Excel “faster than speeding molasses,” [C/D, March 1986]. But thanks to lower Korean labor costs, Hyundai was able to price the Excel considerably below competing small cars.

The Genesis, obviously, shares only a brand name with that primitive ’80s Excel, but the marketing theory is similar. Pricing for this new luxo four-door starts at $33,000, including the $750 destination charge. That’s for the 290-hp, 3.8-liter V-6 version. The 375-hp, 4.6-liter V-8 adds $5000 to the base price—$58.82 per pony. Not all that much, really, when you consider the cars with V-8 power that Hyundai seeks to usurp. The base price for a BMW 550i is $59,625, and the least expensive 5-series, the 528i, starts at $45,425.

Others: Audi A6 4.2, from $57,075; Infiniti M45, from $51,065; Lexus GS460, from $53,785; Mercedes E550, from $60,575. (We should add that with the exception of the Genesis, these are 2008 prices.)

Here’s what you get for your 38-grand base price. In addition to the V-8 and ZF six-speed automatic (the 3.8-liter V-6 is mated to an Aisin B600 six-speed auto), the luxury inventory includes a power tilt/slide sunroof; two-tone leather upholstery and upper dash, stylishly stitched; tasteful wood trim; heated power front seats; a 15-speaker sound system; electroluminescent instruments; Bluetooth hands-free phone connectivity; dual-zone automatic climate control; memory presets for seat position and steering column (power adjustable for rake and reach); a power rear sunshade; and cruise control (Hyundai will add an adaptive feature later).

Our test car had the only option group offered, the $4000 Technology package: 17-speaker audio with an in-dash six-DVD changer, XM satellite radio, an iDrive-style control that’s actually user-friendly, a nav system, HID headlamps, a backup warning camera, driver’s seat cooling, and front and rear park-assist sensors.

You get the idea—lots of the goodies you’d expect of a luxury car, in a handsomely executed interior. Make that handsome and exceptionally roomy. This is a big car by the standards of the class to which it aspires—bigger than any of its target competitors, with interior volume that’s more consistent with cars one size up the scale. Lots of trunk, too—16 cubic feet.

Hyundai has taken pains to make sure the Genesis is as quiet as it is roomy—another page from the Lexus playbook. At a 70-mph cruise, the needle on our sound meter once quivered just below 69 dBA, but we wound up with an average of 70—good but not exceptional. Noise suppression is fine, of course, but how silent should it be? We think a little basso profundo in the exhaust note would enhance the driving experience. To which we’ll return shortly.

Exterior design is obviously critical to a company attempting to invade the prestige ranks, and here again it looks as though Hyundai has followed the Lexus script. Created to invade German turf, the original LS400 was a shameless Mercedes derivative that worked. The Genesis can be perceived as derivative, too, but pinpointing the origin of the derivations provokes debate. Mercedes? BMW? Lexus? The S-class–style grille is eye-catching, and the short front overhang suggests athleticism, but the overall look is a little generic.

2010 Chevrolet Camaro V-6

2008-08-25T08:12:00.000-07:00

2010 Chevrolet Camaro will not be available with your beloved T-top. If this is hugely disappointing, well, it may finally be time to put on a shirt with a collar, sell your Skynyrd CDs, and scissor the mullet.

In reviving the Camaro, Chevy is doing all it can to make the born-again car remind everyone of the sharp, cleanly styled 1967 original, rather than the more awkward later versions that seemed like accessories to tank-top wear and excesses in facial hair. This writer, the semi-proud owner of a 1995 Z28, knows intimately all the social assumptions that go with late-model Camaro ownership.

GM is of course milking the revival for as many stories as it can get from us, hence we got a first drive in a V-6-powered Camaro prototype, which we promptly piloted to the the Car and Driver 10Best loop in the Michigan woods. The V-8 experience will follow soon. Manipulative intentions aside, the point of our early exposure was also to prove that even the base Camaro is deserving of more enlightened consideration, while still being powerful and capable enough to rock your face.

As we noted in our September issue, the V-6 features direct injection and dual over-head cams, the rear suspension is an independent multilink, and both transmissions (an Aisin manual and a GM automatic) are six-speeds. Lest you think this setup is the sort of wine-and-cheese import-sedan formula that will make the Camaro a card-carrying metrosexual, Chevy promises the V-6 will make no fewer than 300 horse-power and that blasting from 0 to 60 mph should take 6.1 seconds, with the quarter-mile breezing by in 14.5 seconds at 97 mph.

Even if those numbers are conservative, the 3800-pound V-6 Camaro should easily out-drag the V-6 versions of the Ford Mustang and Dodge Challenger, but it will eat the dust of a lighter Ford Mustang Bullitt, a V-8, and the more powerful Dodge Challenger SRT8, both of which cover the quarter-mile about a second quicker.

Though the Camaro lacks the cojones to run with the big boys, it does make a compelling case as a decent sports car. Around the 10Best loop, the Camaro showed remarkable poise, with the suspension handling the pockmarked roads with hardly any disturbance to the cabin. The chassis is less jumpy than that of the Mustang but far more communicative than in the Challenger, and although the Camaro is nearly as wide as the Dodge it doesn’t feel as big.

We drove two different wheel-and-tire combinations: 18-inch wheels with BF Goodrich Traction T/As on an automatic-transmission car and 19-inch Pirelli PZero Neros with the manual; either choice has a section width of 245. When the Camaro goes on sale—the target is first day of March 2009—20-inch wheels and tires will be available with the RS package. At this point in the Camaro‘s development (about 99 per-cent complete, according to Chevy), the 18-inch tires are preferable, offering more steering feel and more predictable handling. On either set of tires, though, the Camaro turns in easily before setting into minor understeer that is easily cured with a stomp on the throttle. The engine responds willingly, although the high-pitched tone of the exhaust note feels out of place – our inner car lover appreciates the racy smoothness but our inner Camaro owner longs for the deep rumble of a V-8.

2010 Cadillac CTS Sport Wagon

2008-08-17T22:56:00.000-07:00

Cadillac is hoping to inspire wagon-mania.

Wagons are wildly popular in Europe, and the new mandate at Cadillac is to design global vehicles—ergo North America will get a CTS Sport Wagon next spring.

General Motors chose the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance for the world premiere of this extension of the popular CTS family.

Cadillac is now selling more CTS sedans than any other product in its lineup, says product director John Howell. “As we developed the CTS it became clear there were opportunities to do more than a sedan,” he says.

First to be confirmed was the 2010 CTS coupe, slated to begin production in the fall of 2009. But now, beating it to the punch will be the wagon when workers start building them early next year at GM’s plant in Lansing, Michigan, for shipment to dealers in the spring of 2009. Because the front end sheetmetal, powertrains, and interior are all shared, officials say there is manufacturing flexibility to switch the mix easily to meet demand of any one of these body styles.

The family wagon shares its 113.4-inch wheelbase with the sedan, but is actually 0.7 inch shorter in total length. It offers 25 cubic feet of cargo room behind the rear seats, accessible via a power liftgate. The “roof load management system” is designed to blend with the roofline and the center section of the roof panels actually angles down to hide the cross bars. Design director Dean Clay says the look was designed to create a subtle fin effect. If the nuance is lost on you, don’t worry, the important thing is that it does help disguise the roof rack.

Under the hood is GM’s direct-injection 3.6-liter V-6 cranking out 304 horsepower. It likes regular unleaded gas and GM says it will match the sedan’s 26 mpg on the highway. The base engine is the non-DI 3.6-liter that musters up 263 hp and 253 lb-ft of torque. Both mills are mated to six-speed transmission, both manual and automatic.

Once Again, Torquey Diesels Are Not For Us

A 250-hp, 2.9-liter turbo-diesel V-6 is being developed for Europe and Asia. The diesel-powered version will be shown in October at the Paris auto show, but execs say there are no current plans to offer it in the U.S.

The wagon has available all-wheel drive, unique 19-inch wheels, and an optional larger panoramic sunroof.

For Dean, this is a way to stretch the language of Cadillac and the hope is the sleek, raked look; deep slivers of taillamps that extend from the roof to the bumper; the crease across the back; chrome accent line along the roof; and LED lighting will win the favor of those who have failed to appreciate wagons in the past. We gotta admit it’s striking, and the view of the rear is arguably one of its best features.

Howell admits it will be a bit of an experiment offering a wagon in the U.S., whereas it is expected to be a slam dunk in Europe where half of the mid-size vehicles sold there are wagons. But tastes are ever-evolving and buyers are always seeking something new, Dean says, noting the trends from minivans to SUVs to crossovers. Asked about the failure of the Dodge Magnum to catch on with buyers, leading to the decision to kill it, Dean says the Magnum was a very large car, with polarizing style. The CTS wagon is a size smaller, and shares the popular design of the rest of the CTS family. As for a CTS-V wagon, executives smile and say it is an option. (Please?)

Next-Gen SRX Also Coming Next Year

It will be a busy year for Cadillac in 2009; sandwiched between the intros of the CTS wagon and coupe will be the launch of the next-generation 2010 SRX crossover. This jaunty SUV will go into production in the second quarter of 2009.

2009 Acura TL - First Drive Review

2008-08-16T22:46:00.000-07:00

As always, beauty lies in the eye of the beholder. And so does ugly.

Let’s just get this out of the way. Yes, the beaky nose on the new Acura TL looks odd. Maybe it’s just the shock of a new look; maybe it really is weird-looking. We’ll need more time to gaze critically upon it before we decide. We can, however, testify that it looks better in the flesh than in photographs and that the rest of the TL’s angular, modern shape is assuredly handsome, especially in the pointed shape of the trunk. And while it might look odd, the car’s grille carries a familial resemblance to the rest of the Acura lineup. Puns aside, the TL stands out as the face of the brand. It spearheaded Acura’s sales resurgence in the late ’90s and remains Acura’s bestselling car.

The success of previous TLs centered on two aspects: a powerful V-6 engine and lots of standard equipment. The new TL predictably sticks to that playbook but adds another page with the addition of optional all-wheel drive. The standard TL’s V-6 gets a displacement enhancement from 3.2 liters to 3.5; power is up 22 horsepower to 280, and torque grows by 21 pound-feet to 254. Both numbers are, however, slightly lower than the output of the 3.5-liter in the old TL Type-S. The all-wheel-drive TL, dubbed SH-AWD and equipped with the same rear-wheel torque-splitting system found in the RDX and MDX, comes with a 3.7-liter engine rated at 305 horsepower and 275 pound-feet of torque. It’s basically the same powertrain as in the updated RL [C/D, September 2008], with variable intake- and exhaust-valve timing and lift all on a single cam. Both TL engines are mated to a five-speed automatic, which seems outdated in a segment where six and seven speeds are common. Visually, the SH-AWD model is differentiated by the functional front brake ducts next to the fog lamps, four exhaust tips at the rear, and 18- or 19-inch wheels and tires.

As before, the TL is based on the Accord, although this one doesn’t share any major dimensions with the Honda. Exterior dimensions are all bigger than the outgoing model’s, with length growing a full six inches, to 195.3. The bigger size doesn’t translate directly to the interior, though. The front seat is slightly smaller, while the rear seat is a little bigger (legroom is up 1.3 inches). Trunk space is bigger by just less than one cubic foot.

As for the rest of the Acura playbook, the TL still boasts an impressive amount of equipment. The Technology package, an option box that 70 percent of TL buyers are expected to tick, adds to a long list of standards: keyless entry and ignition, a 10-speaker ELS surround stereo with 12.7-gigabyte hard drive, and a navigation system. That nav boasts real-time traffic information, specific lane routing for multilane highways, and an industry-first Doppler radar weather-map feature.

The insides share a familiar look with other Acuras, but the multifunction controller knob and the bevy of buttons that surround it seem less confusing and cluttered than in the RDX. Material qualities are first-rate, and this car feels far more upscale than the previous one did.

Driving the TL back-to-back with its predecessor makes it clear that major improvements have been made, with one exception. Body motions are better controlled, road and wind noise have been all but eliminated, the brakes feel solid, and the TL corners with a more level attitude than its compliant ride would suggest. Torque steer, long a TL drawback, is far better managed. On the other hand, steering feel has lost the plot. The new TL uses electronic power assist, as opposed to the old hydraulic unit. It’s more precise on-center, but the old car’s steering was better weighted and offered much more feel.

Despite about 250 pounds of added weight, 32-percent-stiffer springs, and increased damping force, the SH-AWD rides better than the standard TL. The engine note is slightly throatier, and the handling is more responsive, too, thanks in part to optional 19-inch tires shod with Michelin Pilot Sport PS2 tires.

Saleswise, this is Acura’s most important car, and even with prices holding steady (starting at about $35,000 and moving up to $42,000 for a loaded SH-AWD), it’s possible that potential buyers could be turned off by its funny face. Which is a shame, because everywhere else (except for the steering), the TL is the most focused and best executed car in Acura’s lineup.

2009 Subaru Impreza WRX - First Drive Review

2008-08-16T21:07:00.000-07:00

Subaru takes a mulligan with the WRX and hits it straight and true

There are few problems that more horsepower can’t fix or at least help you ignore. And as a perfect case study, we bring you the 2009 Subaru Impreza WRX. Our first impression of the new-for-2008 WRX left us hot and cold. Interior quality, overall refinement, and noise isolation were vastly improved, but the WRX lacked the thrill of the previous car. The engine was largely unchanged, and weight gain was nonexistent, but the WRX came off as more of an Impreza GT than the street version of a rally car, a trait its predecessors had in spades. And with the Mazdaspeed 3, Chevrolet Cobalt SS, and Dodge Caliber SRT4 all making more than 260 horsepower, the WRX looked anemic by comparison with only 224 ponies on tap.

So Subaru has addressed these issues with a few updates, the most notable being a power boost to 265 horsepower, an increase of 41. These changes only apply to the manual-transmission WRX; the automatic continues unchanged in all but name and is now appropriately known as the Impreza 2.5GT. Subaru’s marketing plan is to align the 2.5GT with the naturally aspirated 2.5i model and liken the WRX to the 305-hp STI. To that effect, the WRX now shares a grille with the STI, and the optional body kit becomes standard. The five-door WRX also gets the rear spoiler from the STI.

Better Driving Through Air/Fuel Chemistry

The power comes primarily from a larger turbocharger, with maximum boost up to 13.3 psi from 11.9. A new catalytic converter and a larger exhaust—it provides 30-percent-better flow—help reduce back pressure from the increased boost. The power peak is 800 rpm higher at 6000 rpm. Torque is up to 244 pound-feet, an increase of 18 that comes at a relatively lofty 4000 revs, but there’s plenty of grunt starting at 2500 rpm.

It’s unlikely that the suspension upgrades to the 2009 WRX would warrant as much attention, if any, had the engine been left untouched. However, the WRX is now stiffer and sportier. The front upper strut mounts are borrowed from the STI, and the front and rear spring rates have increased 43 percent and 42 percent, respectively. The front and rear anti-roll bars have grown a millimeter in diameter to 21mm front and 16mm rear. Tire size has increased from 205/50R-17 to 225/50R-17, and the rubber (thankfully) changes from all-season Bridgestones to high-performance Dunlop SP Sport 01s. The valves on the steering have been updated to complement the new tires.

2011 Chevrolet Volt – Official Photos

2008-08-16T18:55:00.000-07:00

Chevrolet gives us a sneak peek at the production version of its upcoming plug-in hybrid.

Chevrolet just released some teaser images of its much-ballyhooed Volt plug-in hybrid. The bad news: it appears as if it will look very little like the punchy little Volt concept, which virtually stole the 2007 Detroit auto show. The good news: it should still look pretty cool, at least as far as we can tell from the two pictures, which show an illuminated front quarter as well as part of the tailgate.

Gone are the squinting headlamps and three-dimensional grille of the concept in favor of Ford-like, sideways L-shaped assemblies that include an HID bulb, lots of LED action, and a “halo ring” à la 2010 Chevrolet Camaro. The upper grille is now a stylized and patterned surface rather than a hungry air pocket. The concept’s outboard lower air intakes are also drastically different from those shown in the new images, but we think they got way more interesting this time around.

The frontal image also shows a lower opening that will feed and cool the plug-in hybrid powertrain, which will include massive batteries capable of propelling the car up to 40 miles by themselves. A small gasoline engine will serve as a generator to extend the car’s range up to 400 miles, but it won’t be involved at all in actual propulsion.

Other than showing us the official Volt badge, which features a delicate lightning bolt striking through the “V,” the rear detail image doesn’t tell us a lot. Still a mystery is the exact shape of the roofline, windows—the side windows on the concept were integrated into the aggressive shoulderline—and trunk/tailgate, although we mentioned in an earlier report on the Volt’s development progress that the design “bears a family resemblance to the Chevrolet Malibu.” Fortunately, that was just a test mule, and there are no traces of Malibu in the final product beyond perhaps the five-spoke wheels.

We’re told that many of the changes made to the Volt’s design were dictated by wind-tunnel testing, which ultimately revealed the boxy concept, however great-looking, to be insufficiently aerodynamic. But from what we can tell, Chevrolet seems to be brewing up a design that appears as futuristic as the technology under its skin.

And the Volt continues to garner widespread interest. An unofficial "fan" waiting list claims more than 33,000 prospective buyers, although most have said they wouldn't be willing to pay the rumored $40,000 price tag to get one.

GMTH To Invest $445 Million In Thai Auto Projects

2008-08-13T07:40:00.000-07:00

General Motors Thailand (GMTH) said Wednesday it will invest $445 million to build a diesel engine plant in Thailand and in upgrading an existing assembly facility.

The plant, which will produce engines for small pickup trucks, is slated to begin production in 2010 and will have an annual capacity of over 100,000 units, the U.S. auto manufacturer said in a statement.

“The 14,492 square meter facility will be GM’s first diesel engine plant in Southeast Asia and will provide four-cylinder diesel engines for use by Chevrolet in Thailand and other global markets,” the statement said.

Thailand is a major regional production center for foreign auto-makers, manufacturing one-ton pickup trucks and sedans for the domestic market and for export.

The engine plant will be located next to GM’s vehicle assembly facility in Rayong province, which opened in 2000 and has a staff of about 2,000.

The assembly plant will be upgraded for production of the new model Chevrolet Colorado small pickup truck.

The diesel engine plant will initially employ 340 workers.

Source:CNN money

2009 Fiat 500 Abarth and 500 Aria Concept

2008-08-11T00:13:00.000-07:00

So cute you could give it a hug, it’s no wonder so many people have embraced the Fiat 500 and made the little Italian hatchback a huge sales success—only a couple years after many wondered if then-struggling Fiat would even be around long enough to attend another Geneva auto show.

Riding a wave of recent success, Fiat is bringing two new versions of the 500 to this year’s show. The sport-themed version represents the next step in the Italian manufacturer’s resurrection of its legendary Abarth performance brand. Last year’s Grande Punto Abarth became the first modern Fiat to dust off the long-dormant badge.

The 500 Abarth goes on sale in July with a 135-hp, 1.4-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine under its stumpy hood. In normal mode, peak torque is set at 132 pound-feet at 2500 rpm. But with the push of a dash-mounted button, the engine switches to sport mode and torque climbs to 152 pound-feet at 3000 rpm. A torque transfer control system promises improved traction and sharper handling.

A lowered suspension, bigger wheels, and aggressive front and rear bumpers prove this is not your average cutesy Fiat 500. And if the options list of the regular 500 is anything to go by, we expect that Abarth customers will be able to choose from a raft of special trim, decals, and paint jobs.
Aria: The Gentler Version

Alongside the rip-snorting Abarth version, the Fiat 500 Aria concept looks a little tame. Forget boy-racer racing stripes and snarling engines. The 500 Aria is fitted with a Euro5-emissions-compliant 1.3-liter Multijet four-cylinder diesel engine. Paired with Fiat’s Dualogic transmission and stop-and-start system, which turns off the engine to save gas when the car is stopped, the Aria’s fuel consumption is said to be 10 percent better than that of the standard 500.

Considering that the 500 Abarth reuses an old performance nameplate, it makes sense that the interior of the Aria concept also employs plenty of recycled material—albeit of the rubber and plastic variety. Even the seats have a green theme and are covered in a material made of recycled leather. Rounding out the Aria’s ecofriendly credentials are auxiliary systems that use less power, lightweight components, and low-drag tires.

For now the Aria is only a concept. However, we wouldn't be surprised if many of its fuel-saving features started appearing on the regular 500.

2009 Ford Fiesta

2008-08-10T23:27:00.000-07:00

We were okay with the Verve name, but Ford has decided to go with a tried-and-true global name for the small car it will sell in virtually every market, including the U.S. So when the Verve concept goes into production, it will be known as the Ford Fiesta.

There are three distinct variations of the subcompact, or B-segment, Fiesta for Europe, Asia/Pacifica, and North America—all to be launched by 2010.

At the 2008 Geneva auto show, Ford of Europe shows the three- and five-door Fiestas for that market, being assembled this fall in Cologne, Germany. Ford’s plant in Valencia, Spain, will add production next year.

Jim Farley, Ford’s head of marketing, said, “The good news is that Ford of Europe has figured out how to make premium small cars. It will be built in Valencia, Nanjing, Thailand, and Cologne. We will build it locally somewhere in the Americas.” Regarding the fact that it looks better than the Focus, he commented: “I would never advocate holding back on introducing better product and if it has an impact on our current lineup, so be it.”

Shown are the first, and exclusive, pictures of the five-door unveiled at the show, a body style which may come to the U.S. if reaction is positive. Also in our gallery are images of the three-door Fiesta that will stay on the European side of the pond.

The styling, inside and out, doesn’t veer much from the Verve concept shown at the 2007 Frankfurt auto show, including the futuristic center stack that was modeled after a cell phone and toggle switches on the steering wheel to perform many commands. The 2009 doesn’t increase in size from the current Fiesta sold in Europe, but it's lighter through the use of lightweight, high-strength steel.

For Europe, consumers have a choice of five powertrains including a new Duratec 113-hp, 1.6-liter Ti-VCT gasoline engine. Others are 1.3-liter and 1.4-liter Duratec gasoline mills and a pair of diesels: a 1.4-liter and a 1.6-liter. Transmissions are a five-speed manual or a four-speed automatic.

The Fiesta will be kind to the environment, with fewer than 100 grams per kilometer in carbon-dioxide emissions, Ford says. Much as CAFE regulations are dictating product development in the U.S., strict new emissions regulations are forcing greater degrees of efficiency in Europe.

2009 Toyota iQ - Auto Shows

2008-08-10T23:18:00.000-07:00

Toyota gave us our first glimpse of the tiny iQ concept at the 2007 Frankfurt auto show last fall and follows it up in Geneva with the première of the production model that will go on sale at year’s end in Europe and Japan. The global giant wants to build 100,000 of the tiny cars annually, and European pricing will start at €10,000, or roughly $15,000.

At 117.3 inches long, this subcompact is not destined for North America, but the four-seater is designed to carry three adults and either a child or some luggage, depending on how the interior is configured. The trick is how far forward you move the front passenger seat. The iQ uses a version of the tried-and-true Yaris platform.

The iQ is 10.6 inches longer than a Smart Fortwo—which only carries two people. Chatter suggests the Toyota could get a 1.0-liter engine with stop/start functionality, but Toyota didn't confirm powertrain details.

2010 Nissan Cube

2008-08-10T20:04:00.000-07:00

It’s been long-rumored but has now been made officially official at the 2008 New York auto show: The next-gen Nissan Cube will be coming to the U.S. starting in 2009.

The photos shown here are of a electric-powered concept version of the current model which was shown in New York. The Cube, which is currently on sale in Japan, is based on Nissan’s small-car B platform and powered by a 95-hp, 1.4-liter four-cylinder. It comes with either a four-speed automatic or an optional CVT. For size reference, the current Cube is about an inch longer and—headroom elitists, take notice—10 inches taller than a Mini Cooper.

No word on what will power the U.S. model, but it will need significantly more suds to keep up with and its obvious competitor in cubism, the 158-hp Scion xB. We also hope the sweet wraparound rear window carries over to the new model.

2009 Renault Twingo RS - Auto Shows

2008-08-10T19:37:00.000-07:00

The Renault Twingo RS, debuting at the 2008 Geneva auto show, packs some sport into a car measuring only 142 inches in length—about four inches shorter than a Mini Cooper.

Until now, the top engine in the recently overhauled Twingo lineup has been a gasoline-fired 1.1-liter TCE ("turbo control efficiency") four-cylinder delivering 99 horsepower and 106 pound-feet of torque for a claimed 0-to-62-mph time of 9.8 seconds, planting it firmly among zippy grocery-getters but not Europe’s fieriest hot hatches.
Enter the RS

The Twingo RS arrives in Geneva mechanically and visually rejuvenated. This begins with a 133-hp, 1.6-liter four-cylinder designed to cut a couple of seconds off the 2200-pound hatchback’s 0-to-60 time. That still doesn’t equal the bite of its bigger brothers: the Renault Clio 197 and the Mégane Renault Sport 225 that have a 2.0-liter four-cylinder (turbocharged in the Mégane 225).

The exterior of the Twingo RS has been toughened. Flared wheel arches, new bumpers, sill extensions, a rear spoiler, and a dark mesh grille help to give the Twingo some fangs. Then again, a Chihuahua can snarl and still be totally unintimidating.

Peek inside, and you’ll find grippy Renaultsport seats, a chunkier steering wheel and shift knob, and the same handy sliding rear seats that we love in the regular Twingo.

Expect two levels of chassis tuning, following Renault’s tradition of building hot hatches with a standard version and an optional “Cup” chassis. Details as to what exactly will separate the two—other than 16-inch wheels for the standard version and 17-inchers for the Cup—will have to wait until our complete coverage of the Geneva show.

2009 Volkswagen Scirocco - Mini Test Road Test

2008-08-10T19:22:00.001-07:00

Volkswagen’s new Scirocco is the product of an age-old formula that produces a sporty model that shares the bones of a comparatively pedestrian model. In the ’70s and ’80s, the Golf/Rabbit platform provided the basis for the first- and second-generation Sciroccos.

A Scirocco hasn’t been sold in the U.S. since the second-gen model of 1989, and the wait for one may continue as the new third-gen car probably won’t be coming to our shores. Although the car meets U.S. regulations, VW says the European-built Scirocco wouldn’t make enough money in the land of the weak dollar to merit selling it here. And VW is probably wary of potentially cannibalizing the sales of the GTI, a car also built in Europe.

We drove a version of the Scirocco that we think might have the best chance of getting sent across the Atlantic, the 200-hp, turbocharged 2.0-liter version. The powertrain is identical to the one in the GTI, and not surprisingly, its acceleration is on par with that of the GTI. But VW is quick to point out that the Scirocco isn’t simply a rebodied GTI. The strut front-suspension design is shared with the GTI, but the track is wider. In back is a multilink suspension borrowed from the Passat but done in lightweight aluminum.

One option that would be worth considering is the three-mode adaptive suspension, dubbed DCC, that comes with Comfort, Normal, and Sport settings. Sport mode is the stiffest, as usual, but selecting it also dials back the amount of assist from the power steering. That gives the steering a very direct feel, which, coupled with the low seating position and the seemingly lower center of gravity, adds a sharp feel to the Scirocco that the GTI can’t quite match.

Aside from a few trim pieces and the door skins, this Scirocco’s interior is lifted wholesale from VW's retractable hardtop, the two-door Eos. The most unusual aspect of the Scirocco’s interior is its low seating position.

In Europe, the Scirocco will be priced just above the GTI, and the Scirocco offers much of the driving pleasure that makes the far more expensive and also loosely GTI-based Audi TT feel special. Further running into the TT’s territory is a rumored 3.6-liter V-6 version with all-wheel drive that makes nearly 300 horsepower. VW officially denies its existence, but nonetheless, an in-house source confirms that such a car has already undergone testing at the Nürburgring. Now, quick, somebody fix the dollar.

2009 Subaru Forester 2.5XT Limited - Road Test

2008-08-07T20:24:00.000-07:00

Subaru’s Forester has always resembled the shipping carton for a side-by-side Frigidaire, a barb that has become less pointed during this wagon’s 11-year lifespan. During that spell, even boxier boxes have appeared—think of the Honda Element and the Scion xB. No matter. The Forester’s practical, unpretentious countenance personifies Subaru’s ethos, and the model has done much to fatten the pay packets of more than a few Fuji Heavy Industries executives.

Every body panel is new. Just to look at the thing, you’d swear the ’09 Forester is 50-percent larger than its forebear. Not true, but it is 2.9 inches longer and 1.8 inches wider, and it rides atop a wheelbase stretched 3.6 inches. EPA passenger volume has swollen by 11 cubic feet. The back seat is now something of an amphitheater—legroom is vast, and egress will brighten the faces of octogenarians. The rear center rider, unfortunately, must perch on a rock-hard hump. As has always been true of Foresters, there’s headroom sufficient to support the odd cumulus cloud or two. Flatten the rear seats, and a mountain bike slides in, no sweat.

The base Forester is powered by the same 170-horse flat-four you’ll find in the nose of an Impreza. Mated to the heavier Forester, however, it rates about a 4.5 on the C/D passion meter. Bolt a turbocharger to that little barking boxer, however, and what once was Velveeta becomes Pont L’Évêque—witness blown Foresters winning our 5Best Trucks Small SUV award in 2004, 2005, and 2006.

For 2009, the 2.5XT and top-of-the-line 2.5XT Limited benefit from a revised turbo, bigger valves, and a meatier intercooler to produce—hey, wait a sec—the same 224 hp and 226 pound-feet of torque as before. How come? Subaru’s aim was to flatten the power curve and reduce the turbo’s on/off-ishness, goals they’ve absolutely achieved. Max horsepower now manifests 400 revs sooner, max torque 800 revs sooner. Behind the wheel, the first thing you notice about this third-gen Forester is that, apart from a tiny bump in power at 3000 rpm, there’s little clue that this is a forced-induction engine. Idle quality could be better, and 42 dBA is a titch noisy for a vehicle freshly returned from the NVH lab. Step-off is a little abrupt, too. On the other hand, full-throttle launches evince almost zero torque steer.

Sixty mph is yours in 6.7 seconds, which makes the turboed Forester way quicker than anything in our nine-ute “$25,000 Soft-Roaders” comparo in February. Still, it’s 0.8 second behind a Forester 2.5XT Limited we tested three years ago. Why? Well, the previous car was a five-speed manual and was 112 pounds lighter. The 2009 Forester XT, in contrast, is offered with an automatic only, and it’s a four-speed at that. Given this car’s price, a fifth gear should have been included. In truth, though, the ratios are nicely spaced, kickdowns are rapid and smooth, and you mostly notice the lack of fifth only at 80 mph and beyond. What’s more, the standard manumatic is quick to lead you to big revs and all the boost you’ll need.

The 2009 Forester is a terrific update, but having said that—and having gushed over its abilities in what I'd have to say is its natural element—I must report that the vehicle ain't perfect (Jalopnic Report - Part One, Part Two) .

All new Nissan Teana 2008 successful 8,000 units in july 2008 china

2008-08-07T02:15:00.000-07:00

Dongfeng Nissan Teana 2008

Dongfeng Nissan’s latest data show that the sales of its new-generation Teana had exceeded 8,000 units by July 16, just one month after the new model was launched on June 16. This figure has set a new high in the monthly sales of the Teana brand and is also the biggest first-month-after-launch sales of any Chinese-made mid- to high-end sedan, reported China Youth Daily today.

A top executive of Dongfeng Nissan has attributed the initial sales success of the new Teana to four favorable factors (named DVC980): 1. designed on the excellent D platform that has produced such premium models as Altima, Maxima, and Murano; 2. driven by the VQ engine, one of the world’s 10 best engines; 3. equipped with the six-speed manual CVT (continuously variable transmission); and made out of the 980MPa high-strength steel.

Industry experts said that this high sales record of the new Teana indicates that its brand appeal and product quality have both attracted a large group of consumers, and it is sure to become one of the top three mid- to high-end sedans by sales in the Chinese market.

Source :Gasgoo

Chevrolet Volt is coming European due in 2011

2008-08-07T02:11:00.000-07:00

General Motors Corp. plans to sell a version of its Volt plug-in hybrid vehicle in Europe by late 2011 and may need sales incentives because of the high cost of the new technology, the automaker’s chief for the region said.

The European version initially will be under the Opel and Vauxhall brands and then later as a Chevrolet, Carl-Peter Forster said in a posting on a GM blog. Chevrolet Volt production is to begin in late 2010 for the United States, he said.

“This assumes that we will continue to attain all of our goals and milestones for the battery and integration of the power electronics,” Forster said in the posting.

GM and Toyota Motor Corp. are competing to market plug-in hybrids, which are being designed to recharge at home electrical outlets and run mainly on electricity. Detroit-based GM intends for the Volt to travel as far as 40 miles on a charge, with a gasoline engine to recharge the batteries to help extend the range.

The automaker may need incentives on the vehicle in Europe to “offset the high costs and drive more volume,” Forster said. The lithium-ion batteries cost “several thousand more euros” than a typical engine and transmission, he said.
Ford sued over custom car

Ford Motor Co. was accused in a lawsuit of misleading buyers of the Roush Stage 3 BlackJack, a high-performance car, by claiming it would make only 100 of them.

Ford and privately held Roush Performance Products collaborated on the Stage 3 BlackJack, a modified version of the Ford Mustang. In a complaint filed Monday in federal court in Manhattan, a New York man who paid $58,000 for the car last year claims the companies defrauded buyers when they said they’d make only 100 vehicles.

“The defendants knew that they would be manufacturing more than 100,” the plaintiff, Drew Connor, said in his complaint. “The defendants produced another 100, which would then be sold in 2008.”

Connor said his car’s value fell with the production of more vehicles. His suit, which seeks class-action, or group, status, asks for damages of at least $11.8 million.

Ford spokesman Mark Truby declined to comment. A message left with Livonia-based Roush Performance Products wasn’t immediately returned.
Toyota sees lease losses

Toyota Motor Corp. said it will have to set aside large reserves for residual losses on vehicles leased in the United States, Dow Jones reported Tuesday.

A decline in demand for used cars means Toyota has to cut expectations of what leased cars will fetch when they are eventually sold, the news service reported.

Toyota declined to say how large the provisions for the first-quarter losses would be, according to the news report.
Toyota lays off 800

Japanese automaker Toyota has laid off 800 people at a plant in southwestern Japan, or about 10% of the plant’s workforce, in response to declining sales in North America, a company official said Tuesday.

All the job cuts — carried out in June and August at Toyota Motor Corp.’s wholly owned subsidiary Toyota Motor Kyushu — applied to workers sent by job-referral agencies. Japanese companies are increasingly relying on such agencies for temporary workers called haken to be flexible to market demand.

Prior to the layoffs, Toyota Motor Kyushu, which makes Lexus luxury models, had employed 8,200 workers — 1,950 of them haken — an official said on condition of anonymity, citing company policy.

The official said the job cuts were temporary and 500 haken workers will be brought back later this year.

Argentina’s production up

Argentine automakers increased production 8.4% in July from a year earlier, the country’s Automakers Association said Tuesday in an e-mailed statement.

Production last month rose to 62,179 vehicles while domestic sales climbed 5% to 54,808 units, the association said.

2008 MTM Audi R8 Supercharged - First Drive Review

2008-08-07T01:55:00.000-07:00

We don't think that we go too far in stating that the Audi R8 is a near-perfect supercar. It looks great, with the inimitable proportions of a mid-engine sports car topped off with Audi's trademark styling language and attention to detail. Fit and finish are top-notch—and it’s comfortable enough to gobble hundreds of miles without ever wearing out the driver. Moreover, given the mid-mounted engine placement, it behaves in a forgiving and benign way. In fact, it feels so planted to the road that it could easily handle more than the 420 horsepower it serves up.

More Power? Yes, Please

This leads directly to the sole complaint we have about the R8—its relative lack of power in the exalted world of supercars. Even so, its acceleration is good, right up there with the Porsche 911 Carrera S, and it will cut through the lofty 300-km/h (186 mph) barrier, if barely. But other mid-engine cars like the R8’s Lamborghini Gallardo sibling or the Ferrari F430, are significantly faster. Even high-powered sedans and station wagons, such as the Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG wagon, can out-accelerate the R8.

If there's a power issue with an Audi, German enthusiasts have long known where to find the cure: at Roland Mayer's MTM tuning house in Wettstetten, Bavaria, just a few kilometers down the road from Audi's headquarters in Ingolstadt. Mayer is a former Audi engineer who took part in the development of the legendary first-generation Quattro. He founded MTM (Motoren Technik Mayer) in 1990 and has gained a reputation for offering a wide range of tuning options, from reprogramming turbo-diesels to extreme vehicles like the Bimoto, a first-generation Audi TT with two engines rated at over 500 horsepower each. That car has broken 244 mph at the Papenburg test track in northern Germany, and Mayer aims to go even beyond that.

Give It a Little More Air

Mayer's cure for the R8: supercharge it. The MTM R8 Supercharged uses an intercooled, twin-screw Lysholm unit bolted onto Audi's high-revving 4.2-liter FSI V-8. Operating with a maximum boost of 8 psi, it pushes horsepower from 420 horsepower at 7800 rpm to a claimed 560 at 7750. Maximum torque is improved from 317 lb-ft at 4500 rpm to 413 lb-ft at 5500 rpm.

The chassis and Quattro four-wheel-drive system, which favors sending power to the rear wheels, remain unchanged. But MTM offers 20-inch wheels, a high-performance braking system, and some aerodynamic enhancements, such as a front lip and a diffuser. It all looks quite sophisticated and could have been done by Audi itself. The interior is transformed with two carbon seats, padded with separate cushions. They look futuristic and are far more comfortable than we expected.

We drove the car on its home turf in Germany, and it will be available to U.S. customers via Hoppen Motorsport of Sarasota, Florida—although it must be said that Roland Mayer doesn't expect a lot of U.S. takers.

Nissan Introduces Gas Pedal That Pushes Back When Accelerating "Too Fast"

2008-08-04T19:43:00.001-07:00

Nissan's revealed plans to install what it's calling the "ECO Pedal" system in models next year. The technology makes the gas pedal press upward when it senses motorists are speeding up too quickly. Although Nissan says the system can help drivers improve fuel efficiency 5 to 10 percent, we say it's the ultimate nanny technology that should never see life.

The "ECO Pedal" calculates the most efficient rate of acceleration in a vehicle based on how fast fuel is being burned combined with other factors. The system causes the gas pedal to push back to alert overzealous drivers when it deems you're pushing the pedal too fast.

The pedal technology is Nissan's newest addition to the vehicle technology tine of their three-pronged approach to reducing carbon dioxide emissions: improvements in vehicle technologies, driving behaviour and traffic conditions. We liked the last idea of equipping all new cars with a fuel consumption indicator, which indicates the optimal level for fuel-efficient driving by displaying a green, flashing or amber light.

Jalopnik Snap Judgment: This may be one of the worst ideas we've yet heard of. Although you'll be able to turn the system off, this type of technology is yet another example of an unnecessary feature designed to nanny drivers too stupid to realize they're supposed to reduce their speed and speed fluctuation to maintain high fuel economy. Frankly, we're more concerned what will happen when a driver needs to overtake another vehicle at high speed on a highway or just as scary — crossing a dotted middle line to pass a truck. How much would it suck to be in the oncoming lane? This feature needs to die before it even hits the streets.

Source: http://jalopnik.com

Suzuki A-Star Concept - Auto Shows

2008-08-03T21:16:00.001-07:00

Suzuki’s cute little hatchback for India goes global in Geneva.

It’s a good thing Suzuki had a concept car to spare here at the 2008 Geneva auto show. The half-hearted claps welcoming the Japanese company’s new Splash compact car were almost forgotten when the wraps were pulled off the handsome A-Star hatchback concept.

First seen in January at the New Delhi Auto Expo, the A-Star is making its European debut in Geneva. As global cars go, it’s difficult to find one with a richer pedigree than this little Suzuki. Designed and engineered in Japan and India, the A-Star is now targeting European buyers.

Suzuki has been enormously successful in India. For going on three decades Suzuki has been working with Indian partner Maruti, and the Indian/Japanese joint venture now controls more than 55 percent of India’s booming automotive market.

So it makes sense that the A-Star would capitalize on the 25 years of experience that Suzuki has working in India—not to mention India’s cheap labor costs. The A-Star will be built in India and exported around the globe, including Europe, where it should yield a nice profit margin.

Exact timing is uncertain. A-Star production begins in October, with initial sales for the Indian domestic market, followed by a rollout to Asia and Europe.

A name change is also likely for European versions—although Suzuki officials confirm that the A-Star name will remain for India.

Whatever badge or name they slap on it, we don’t expect it to show up on our shores. Powered by a tiny 996cc, three-cylinder engine, the A-Star simply lacks the horsepower that American buyers demand.

But there’s no denying that the chunky proportions of the four-door hatchback look good. A fun, stylistic flourish that points to the car’s Indian heritage is in the A-Star’s taillights. Look closely, and you’ll see there’s an Indian paisley design worked into them.

2009 Honda Fit - Auto Shows

2008-08-03T21:14:00.000-07:00

If this redesign of the Honda Fit seems to be coming a little early, that’s because it is. So early, in fact, that we've just recently sent back our long-term Fit. But, although the sub-Civic Fit only debuted in the U.S. two years ago at New York auto show, the car has been on sale in Japan since 2001, so its time has come for a redesign.

The redesign involves taking a winning formula and making it better. The car is bigger in almost every dimension—width, length, and wheelbase all increase by a few inches. Overall weight increases by fewer than 30 pounds. Wheels on base Fits are 15 inches, with 16s as an option.

The new, larger Fit is still a tiny car, but overall interior volume should be approaching that of a Honda Civic. Honda has improved upon the Fit's already good seat-folding mechanisms, making it even easier to access the versatile cargo space, as well as adding telescoping adjustability to the steering column. A smaller A-pillar is designed to increase visibility, and new options for the '09 Fit include navigation, stability control, and a panoramic roof to let in more light.

Under the hood, the 2009 Fit continues to use a 1.5-liter i-VTEC four-cylinder engine. Power output is 120 horsepower and 107 pound-feet of torque, an increase of 11 ponies and two pound-feet. A five-speed manual will be the standard transmission, with a paddle-shifted five-speed automatic optional.

Globally, the Fit accounts for about 10 percent of all Honda sales, and that success is sure to continue with the updated version. Watch for the 2009 Honda Fit to appear in showrooms this fall.

2008 Chevrolet Aveo / Aveo5 - Review

2008-08-03T21:04:00.000-07:00

What’s new, trim levels, optional equipment, and safety info for the 2008 Chevrolet Aveo.

Manufactured for Chevrolet in Korea by Daewoo, the subcompact Aveo is a basic-transportation car whose chief virtue is affordability and inexpensive operation. It’s offered in sedan and five-door hatchback (called the Aveo5) body styles, with a 103-hp, 1.6-liter four-cylinder engine driving the front wheels via a five-speed manual transmission (standard) or four-speed automatic (optional).

The sedan is the bigger of the two, and a little more stylish, but the hatchback—about the size of a Honda Fit—provides more cargo capacity and is cheaper.

Neither version comes close to matching the Fit’s all-around drivability, braking distances are substandard, automatic-equipped models are exceptionally sluggish, and fun-to-drive is largely conspicuous by its absence. On the other hand, the Aveo does deliver a respectable level of standard comfort and convenience features. It is adequacy priced to sell.

What’s New for 2008

Chevy has added a tire-pressure monitoring system to all models. Fifteen-inch aluminum wheels are now standard on the LT, optional on base models.

2008 Toyota Yaris - Review

2008-08-03T20:44:00.000-07:00

What’s new, trim levels, optional equipment, and safety info for the 2008 Toyota Yaris.

The front-drive Yaris has been around for nine years in international markets, but it is relatively new to the U.S., having arrived for 2007 as a replacement for the late and unlamented Echo. Offered in three-door-hatchback and four-door-sedan body styles, it’s the smallest Toyota sold in this country, as well as the least expensive and second in fuel thriftiness behind the Prius hybrid. EPA ratings for the Yaris are 29 mpg city and 36 mpg highway with the standard five-speed manual transmission and 29/35 with the optional four-speed automatic.

Our responses to the Yaris are mixed, placing the Yaris fourth in a comparison test of seven new subcompacts. Nevertheless, this is a popular and affordable car in an increasingly popular class, and it’s inexpensive to own and operate and is bolstered by Toyota’s solid reputation and strong service organization.

We appreciate the function of its manual transmission, and the Yaris’s stopping distances are excellent; but the rear seat is cramped, even by subcompact standards, stability at freeway speeds leaves something to be desired, there’s excessive body roll in ordinary cornering maneuvers, and the center-dash gauge cluster is a turn-off. A good—but not great—replacement for the Toyota Echo.

What’s New for 2008

All models get tire-pressure monitors and a parking-brake reminder light. The Sport trim level is offered for 2008 on the three-door hatchback and adds front and rear spoilers, a tachometer, amber gauges, upgraded seat fabric, and a leather-wrapped steering wheel and shift knob.

2009 Ford Lincoln MKS - First Drive Review

2008-08-03T19:23:00.000-07:00

The Ford Motor Company has faced more challenges in recent years than the Hobbits in Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings trilogy. Among them is the plight of its Lincoln division. Once an American luxury icon, it has faded from the wish lists of the wealthy.

With the MKS, Ford is hoping to reverse Lincoln’s fortunes by assaulting the so-called mid-luxury sedan segment, targeting such rivals as the Infiniti M35, the Cadillac STS, and especially, the Lexus GS350.

The MKS is based on Ford’s D3 platform, from which the Ford Taurus springs, among other models. Ford engineers say this architecture has been substantially modified to increase rigidity, decrease NVH (noise, vibration, and harshness), and most significantly, accommodate a newly designed, multilink independent rear suspension.

The MKS’s exterior design reflects current luxosedan convention. Its silhouette—truncated hood and deck, elongated greenhouse, high tail—is not dissimilar to other sedans in its class. What gives it some character are a striking “double-wing” grille, subtle modeling that defines the beltline, and the spare use of bright trim along the roofline and around the windows.

The interior design is equally low-key. It doesn’t shout luxury, but it’s there in abundance in the form of well-bolstered seats with just the right degree of firmness and high-quality materials throughout.

The instrument panel is a model of simplicity with large, white-on-black gauges. The controls are well placed and reactive to the touch. A worthwhile option is a navigation system that links with the standard Sirius satellite radio to display real-time weather maps, gasoline prices, and other information. Bundled with Ford’s Sync system and Bluetooth and MP3 connectivity, it is the most advanced and easy-to-use infotech package on the market, at least for now.

Among other major components from Ford’s inventory are the MKS’s engine, a 275-hp, 3.7-liter V-6 (which is a bored-out version, by three millimeters, of the 3.5- liter V-6 Duratec), and a smooth six-speed automatic transmission. This isn’t the gutsiest engine in the class, but a 340-hp twin-turbocharged version will debut in mid-2009. Front-wheel drive is the default, but all-wheel drive is available.

The MKS’s suspension is tuned to favor Lexus-like comfort over BMW-ish handling. Still, the steering is accurate, not overly assisted, and has sufficient feel and feedback to put some fun into driving on back roads. On interstates it tracks true, and in city congestion it’s nimble enough for a car its size. With a curb weight of more than 4200 pounds, an AWD MKS is no sports sedan, but it’s a quick boulevardier with noteworthy throttle response.

Solid, spacious, and put together well, the MKS has a base price of $38,465, although a fairly well-equipped model with AWD, a nav system, 20-inch wheels, and other luxo stuff can push the tab close to 50 grand.

2009 Ford Flex Limited AWD - Road Test

2008-08-03T19:13:00.000-07:00

Flexible, Yes. a Flier? No: Looking as if it were assembled entirely of municipal park benches, Ford’s latest crossover is more SUV than wagon.

An embarrassment of riches is a nice problem to have, right up until you have to explain it.

Customer: “What’s that? It looks like an SUV.”

Ford salesman: “No, no, definitely not an SUV. That’s the Edge. It’s a crossover with a 3.5-liter, 24-valve V-6 and a six-speed automatic.”

Customer: “Okay, then, what’s that over there? It looks like half station wagon, half SUV.”

Ford salesman: “No, no, definitely not a wagon or an SUV. That’s the Taurus X. It’s a crossover with a 3.5-liter, 24-valve V-6 and a six-speed automatic.”

Customer: “Well, jeez, what’s that in the corner, then? Gotta be a wagon, right?”

Ford salesman: “No, no, definitely not a wagon. That’s the Flex. It’s a crossover with a 3.5-liter, 24-valve V-6 and a six-speed automatic.”

Three crossovers with the same drivetrain, three crossovers with all- or front-wheel drive, three crossovers that are within an inch of each other in height, three crossovers that carry base prices starting at less than 30 grand.

In truth, exactly no one will mistake the Flex for its siblings, mostly because it resembles a starter kit for a billboard company. Although Ford refuses to utter the “w” word, the company would prefer you call it a wagon rather than a minivan—tempting, given the Flex’s cubist cockpit, which seats seven (or six, if you order the twin captain’s chairs as a second row). Riding on a Taurus X platform that has been stretched five inches, the Flex is a Holland Tunnel of a car—far larger than it appears in photos. Its wheelbase surpasses a Honda Pilot’s by 8.7 inches. Its overall length beats a Toyota Highlander’s by 13.4 inches. With its second- and third-row seats folded flat, the Flex offers 83 cubic feet of cargo space, more than the mammoth Toyota Land Cruiser. And the top-of-the-line Flex Limited AWD, as tested here, weighs 4844 pounds. Back in ’91, a Buick Roadmaster Estate wagon—just about the largest thing we’d driven that wasn’t still attached to tail fins—was more than 400 pounds lighter.

No matter. Inside and out, the Flex is dazzling. Panel gaps, paint, surface textures—all are superb. The front doors close heavily and silently, like coffin lids. There are seven dome lights and a like number of available hues for footwell illumination. The cockpit demonstrates Lexus-like attention to detail, including contrasting leather stitching. Second-row riders will enjoy the wedge-shaped footrests, à la Rolls-Royce. The silky off-white headliner brightens what might otherwise have been a dark office, and the elegant faux-wood trim is dispersed to persuasive effect. In fact, the cockpit is sufficiently luxurious that the Flex could easily have been sold as a Lincoln. The $1495 “Vista Roof” (remember the Olds Vista Cruiser?) includes one sliding sunroof over the front seats, two fixed “portholes” above the middle seats, and a 33-by-16-inch fixed pane above the third row.

The IP’s four gauges are clear and simple, although the fat steering wheel can obscure the speedo’s vital 60-to-80-mph range. The center stack, whose valuable topmost acreage is given over to the optional nav screen/backup camera ($2375), is easy to learn despite its 32 buttons. Too much space, however, has been commandeered by an analog clock at the bottom of the stack. We’d gladly have forgone that timepiece in favor of larger HVAC controls and a radio that displayed stations on its own screen, rather than on the nav’s.

The front seats are spacious, firm, and comfortable for long interstate slogs, although their headrests are permanently canted so far forward that they’ll often mess with your hair. The middle seats, which adjust manually fore and aft, are among the best in the vehicular universe, offering more legroom than the fronts, not to mention a view out of the flat-slab windows that’ll make you think you’re ridin’ Greyhound. The front doors are 44 inches long, and the rears are 43 inches long—about the same as Mercedes’ full-size GL-class SUV. Ingress requires neither climbing nor slouching. Just perch on the seat’s outer edge, then swivel your feet. Voilà! You’re ready to yell at the kids.
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2010 Mercedes-Benz GLK350 - First Drive Review

2008-08-03T04:48:00.000-07:00

It’s spacious. It’s powerful. And as you’ll read a few lines from now, it drives quite well. But among the vehicles Mercedes-Benz has introduced lately, the all-new GLK-class is arguably the least inspired, appearing not because someone inside the company shook awake during a deep slumber having just dreamed up a great new concept, but rather to fill a hole in the lineup that grows wider and wider as gas prices rise. This fuel trend that has prompted luxury-inclined SUV intenders to start snapping up BMW X3s, Acura RDXs, and heck, even leather-lined Toyota RAV4s with the potent V-6. And so, early in 2009, the GLK350 appears on U.S. soil, possibly just in time for $5 gas.

Excited? We weren’t either.

But then we got behind the wheel of the GLK350 along the narrow, scenic, and surprisingly entertaining roads south and east of the colorful city of Düsseldorf, Germany. It was along these roads that we discovered the only thing truly surprising about the GLK: that it has buckets of charm.

The GLK350's charm starts with its sheer competence, although there is little about it that is truly original. We’ve seen pretty much everything in this car before—the GL-class aesthetics, the C-class chassis, the 268-hp, 3.5-liter engine and seven-speed transmission from nearly every product Mercedes sells—but everything works as a cohesive and likable package.

A Controversial Face

However, it is a package that was not universally embraced, even inside the company. According to some higher-ups at Mercedes-Benz, there was considerable internal pushback during the design process. Seems the GLK350’s styling didn’t invoke the same feeling of lust and pride that Mercedes internals have gotten used to lately as they’ve brought out cars such as the new SL-class, the SLR McLaren roadster, the new C-class, and all the recent AMG and Black Series variants.

Still, Mercedes claims that the tall, Subaru Forester–esque proportions and the front-end and body-side styling did well in customer clinics here and abroad, and alas, most naysayers in the company eventually came to accept the little thing.

To be fair, the GLK does look much better in person and on the road than you’d expect (certainly better than any Forester). Its windshield is bolt-upright, but the rest of the body is lower and wider than it appears in pictures, taking roughly the same stance as the new Audi Q5, the vehicle we expect to give the GLK the toughest run for its money. The headlamps are nicely detailed—again, something you can’t tell until you take a close look at the metal—and the taillamps are all LEDs. It’ll never be an object of lust, and we don’t think that would change even if festooned with AMG regalia—not that Mercedes would ever build such a thing. But particularly with the big 10-spoke, 19-inch wheels gobbling up every cubic inch of space under the wheel wells, it looks convincingly upscale.

2009 Subaru Impreza WRX / 2.5GT - Car News

2008-08-01T03:18:00.000-07:00

Subaru ups performance with a 265-hp WRX and introduces a new model for ’09.

Having just refreshed the Impreza for 2008, Subaru is now announcing an improved WRX and an all-new model—the 2.5GT—for 2009.

Teaching the Not-So-Old Dog New Tricks

At the heart of the improvements to the WRX is a 41-hp bump to 265, shrinking the power gap between it and the bewinged and devilish STI—not to mention out-powering the new Mitsubishi Lancer Ralliart. Torque increases 18 lb-ft, to 244. Available exclusively with a five-speed manual transmission, the new WRX gets its gusto thanks to a larger turbo and exhaust, in addition to a more free-flowing catalytic converter.

While the added power is sure to be the focal point for many, Subaru hasn’t ignored the enthusiast’s love for the turns, re-tuning the suspension for more aggressive handling, something the softer-for-2008 model desperately needed. Spring rates and anti-roll bar diameters are increased all around and damping is improved. Subaru says the new WRX will be more responsive with sharper turn-in, a claim we look forward to verifying.

We’re also told the new WRX will be equipped with various exterior goodies such as low-profile summer tires and a grille similar to the STI’s, and will come standard with the previously optional Aero Package. Both the hatchback and sedan will feature ground effects all around in addition to a rear spoiler, and the hatchback gets the diffuser from the STI. Various other small enhancements continue throughout the car—such as red stitching on upholstery—but much of the vehicle remains unchanged.

The New Kid on the Block

As the WRX receives its enhancements, another model will be making its debut for the Impreza lineup—the 2.5GT. Essentially a renamed version of the current WRX automatic, the 2.5GT will slot in above the 2.5i and just below the new and improved WRX. With the same turbocharged boxer engine we’re used to, the 2.5GT will put down the very same 224 hp and 226 lb-ft of torque.

The 2.5GT will come standard with the four-speed automatic transmission and be available in both four-door sedan and five-door hatchback form. Subaru’s Symmetrical All-Wheel-Drive system and Vehicle Dynamics Control (VDC) will also be standard, as they are across the lineup.

With these 2009 models raising the bar on performance for the Impreza line, we expect Subaru to give the STI a similar treatment in time. Having recently spied what looked to be a future Impreza WRX STI Spec C in near-production guise, we’d like to think that time is fast approaching.

Mazda Taiki Concept checked for drugs at Chinese customs

2008-07-30T23:55:00.001-07:00

The Mazda Taiki Concept was on it's way from Japan to Beijing for next weeks' auto show when the Chinese customs decided to check it out a bit.

They used dogs, problably to check whether the Japanese designers spilled some of their dope when they designed the car. The Taiki survived the check and fortunately arrived in Beijing in time.

2009 Audi A4 3.2 Quattro - Road Test

2008-07-30T05:24:00.000-07:00

A Style Worth Repeating: Audi makes a few changes to the recipe with the new A4.

It’s fair to say that the folks at Audi have found their styling muse. After we swooned over the shape of the new S5 coupe, Audi basically added two doors to the design and called it the A4. It’s less zoomy-looking than the coupe, but it’s still sexy—unmistakably Audi—and won’t be confused with any other Auto Union offerings. But unlike BMW’s wild leap off the styling reservation, the A4 doesn’t jump out visually as a significant departure from Audi’s evolutionary progression that started with the first A4. Way back in 1996, we liked that first A4 well enough to have awarded it 10Best Cars honors three years running.
40/60 front-to-back torque split.

Now in its third generation wearing the A4 moniker, the new version rides on the B8 platform that underpins the A5/S5 and the forthcoming Q5 sport-ute. Instead of switching to a rear-wheel-drive layout such as that which underpins most of its competitors, Audi sticks with front- or all-wheel drive in the A4, the former coming as an entry-level version next spring. In order to combat the inherent handling handicap that is inescapable in this front-heavy drivetrain layout, the A4’s wheelbase has been stretched six and a half inches, to 110.6. That, combined with a reduced front overhang, means the weight distribution moves astern—55.5 percent of the new A4’s 3860 pounds are over the front wheels, which is about three percentage points less than the case of the last V-6 Quattro A4 we tested. To further improve the A4’s dynamic prowess, the all-wheel-drive system favors the rear wheels with a
How’s that for progress? What’s more, curb weight is up by just 40 pounds despite increases in overall length and width of 4.6 and 2.1 inches, respectively.

There are improvements in the interior as well, which has been an Audi strong point since that first A4. The layout is essentially the same as in the A5/S5, which is to say that even though the A4 is new, cynical automotive writers accustomed to a smorgasbord of driving options will view the interior as all too familiar. The MMI interface, which controls the radio, navigation, and sundry other configuration options, has the same buttons as in the A6 and A8, but here they’re somewhat more contoured, making the fingertip connection easier without the need to glance down at the controls. The A4 also has an optional blind-spot warning system, which unleashes a cluster of flashing LEDs on each of the side-mirror housings to get the driver’s attention. There’s also radar-based adaptive cruise control that is adjustable for the level of aggressiveness with which it uses the gas and brakes. The headlights, which feature an eyebrow-like line of LEDs for the daytime running lamps, tilt the beams higher at speeds above 75 mph for better highway visibility.

Nothing stands out about the feel of the front seats, but they turn out to be all-day comfortable and supportive in all the right places. Rear-seat legroom has grown almost an inch, and at 35.2 inches, it is more spacious than you’ll find in the BMW 3-series or Mercedes C-class. Combined with an increase in rear headroom of 0.3 inch, the back seat is far more comfortable than was the previous A4’s. The rear seats also split and fold to open up a pass-through to the trunk.

Under the hood, the direct-injection 3.2-liter V-6 adds variable lift to the intake valves, which is good for 10 additional horsepower, or 265 in all, although torque is unchanged at 243 pound-feet. Audi claims a fuel-economy increase of 10 percent in both city and highway EPA numbers. The 2.0-liter turbo also gets variable lift, except on the exhaust side, and there’s a modest bump of 11 horsepower, to 211, but there’s a huge torque increase of 51 pound-feet, to 258. Initially, both versions will be offloaded with all-wheel drive and six-speed automatics; by next spring, the 2.0T will be offered with a six-speed manual, and the front-wheel-drive 2.0T will come with a continuously variable automatic transmission.

The V-6 hustled our A4 3.2 Quattro test car from 0 to 60 mph in 5.7 seconds, which is an impressive number but absolutely astonishing compared with the 7.5-second time of the last-gen V-6 A4 we tested in October 2005. The previous quarter-mile time of 14.3 seconds at 100 mph improves by 1.4 seconds.

2009 BMW 750i / 750Li - First Drive Review

2008-07-30T05:13:00.000-07:00

Dynamically impressive, the technology-laden flagship is now even easier to use.

A somewhat less honorable way to stand out is to at first purposely hold back and then impressively show huge improvement. Has BMW done just that with its 7-series?

Even though the new, fifth-generation 7-series follows suit as the technology pacesetter by adding a bunch of high-tech features including active suspension damping, rear-wheel steering, night vision with pedestrian detection, lane-change warning, and side-view cameras, the biggest news is BMW’s backpedaling from some of the previous 7’s, uh, “breakthroughs.” Last time around, BMW rethought the whole business of ergonomics and moved the shifter from the center console to a somewhat confusing lever on the column. It’s now been moved back. The seat controls on the previous 7 were moved to the center console and operated in a way that made them about 10 times more difficult to use. For ’09 they’re back on the outboard side of the seat and operate conventionally, just as on every other BMW.

Easier-to-Use iDrive

Furthermore, the 7-series’ most controversial piece of technology, iDrive, with its multifunction central control knob that has been copied to varying degrees by Mercedes, Audi, and Honda, has been completely revamped and rethought. In fact, continuing to call it iDrive is almost an insult to the new system’s vastly improved menu structure and control strategy. There’s no more convoluted nudging of the iDrive knob in one of eight directions to choose a submenu; now you simply scroll through a straightforward list and click the knob to select it. Nudging the knob to the left always takes you back one menu. Also, there are a number of shortcut buttons around the knob’s periphery to ease the learning process and the climate controls have been removed from iDrive’s clutches altogether and are now more easily operated by buttons and knobs on the dash.

Has all of our complaining finally paid off? We’re cautiously optimistic that BMW understands that complexity does not necessarily equate with sophistication.

Serious Chassis Complexity

But that’s not to say the latest 7-series isn’t complex. In what must be a tuning nightmare for chassis engineers, the new car features standard active dampers that vary compression and rebound characteristics independently in an attempt to maximize handling without sacrificing ride, in addition to the active front and rear anti-roll bars that are included as part of the Sport package. Also new is rear-wheel steering, which is bundled with the optional active steering that varies the steering ratio. The new car features an unequal-length control arm front suspension—a first for a BMW sedan—as well as a redesigned multilink rear.

Source: BY DAVE VANDERWERP - July 2008

2009 Audi Q5 3.2 Quattro - First Drive Review

2008-07-29T01:42:00.000-07:00

It may have lagged four years behind the BMW X3, but it's about five years better.

The sports sedans of German automakers such as Mercedes-Benz and BMW have slugged it out toe-to-toe for decades. But duking it out in the small-SUV arena is a newer phenomenon. Since the launch of the 3-series–based BMW X3 in 2004, both Audi and Mercedes have strangely declined to counterpunch, until now.

Showing up fashionably late to the so-called compact-luxury sport-utility segment means that Mercedes and Audi face already established competition from the Acura RDX, Infiniti EX35, and Land Rover LR2, not to mention BMW’s tidily sized X3. But it also means that the late-arriving Q5 is formed from Audi’s newest architecture, which also underpins the latest A4 sedan as well as the A5 and S5 coupes.

In fact, the A4 and the Q5’s relationship is close enough that they have a common wheelbase, chassis design, all-wheel-drive system, and 265-hp V-6 engine. Sharing these pieces is a very good thing because the Q5 retains much of the sports-sedan feel, solidity, and quiet refinement of the A4; it just happens to have a tall roof and a higher center of gravity.

Optional equipment includes Audi Drive Select (ADS), which gives the driver adjustable shocks and transmission settings, as well as variable-ratio steering that works transparently to give the Q5 quick steering at lower speeds and relatively lazy steering once on the highway. Ride quality even without the adjustable suspension is a superb compromise between comfort and body control. Although the option is expected to cost a whopping $3000, ADS, especially with the variable-ratio steering feature, gives the Q5 a deftness and carlike feel that is largely missing in other small SUVs.

Also missing in competing camps is the Q5’s designer sheetmetal. Sculpted in-house by Audi, the Q5 has elements of the A4 as well as the A3. The exterior design is muscular, free of froufrou, and when the vehicle is equipped with the optional 20-inch wheels, it’s remarkably sporty for something 65.1 inches tall. Inside, the Q5 again shows it is essentially an A4, as the dashboard and instruments are nearly identical. Between the front seats is Audi’s third-generation MMI multifunction controller, which works much like the current version. Navigation-equipped models no longer use DVD-based maps and directions. In the place of the DVD-based system is a 40-gigabyte hard drive that has enough space to store navigation information and more than 1000 MP3 music files.

Passenger space is on par with that of the A4. We wish the front seats would tilt rearward a bit more and offer more thigh support, but the driving position is still commendable. Back-seat occupants will find a split folding bench that moves forward or backward to increase legroom; there is also a reclining backrest.

But one piece has gone missing: the A4’s fuel-efficient 211-hp, 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine that makes more torque than the V-6 does. We were able to sample a Q5 with the 2.0-liter (that engine is, of course, available in Europe), and subjectively it felt every bit as quick as the V-6—Audi claims 0-to-62-mph times of 6.7 seconds for the V-6 and 7.2 seconds for the four. The smaller engine may be offered sometime in 2010. Meanwhile, the 3.2-liter Q5 goes on sale in March at an expected starting price of about $38,000.

Isuzu - Fuel prices dent pick-up sales around the world

2008-07-28T20:33:00.001-07:00

The second quarter closed out with a haul of 50,108 vehicles in June, the fourth lowest monthly return this year, taking sales at the halfway mark to 321,474 units for a 9.9% growth over the same period last year.

It was also the lowest haul for the month since 2003. As crude inches closer to US$150 per barrel, consumers can expect some relief in the form of a six-month economic stimulus package which includes fuel subsidies of about three baht per litre.

Consumers, it seems. are applying the brakes on vehicle purchase as a result of political and economic instability, which can be attributed to the June drop of 8.8% over the 54,910 units sold in May, according to Tri Petch Isuzu.

Automakers are trying to beat the slide through promotions and campaigns by giving out petrol vouchers, lenient payment terms and extended warranties.

Continue reading →

Honda, Nissan join to mass produce fiber-body cars

2008-07-27T20:37:00.000-07:00

Japanese auto giants Honda Motor Co. and Nissan Motor Co. have joined with Toray Industries Inc. to develop a new carbon-fiber material for use in auto bodies, aiming to mass produce cars that are lighter by as much as 40% than steel-built vehicles, according to a report Thursday.

The group aims to establish mass production technology for the new material by the middle of the next decade, the Nikkei business daily reported, without citing a source.
Honda ,Nissan and Toray will be joined in their efforts by textile firms Mitsubishi Rayon Co. and Toyoba Co. , plastic parts maker Takagi Seiko Corp. and researchers from the University of Tokyo, the Nikkei report added.
The joint efforts come during steep increases in iron ore prices recently, which have in turn inflated steel prices and raw material costs for automakers across the world.
Although carbon fiber now is several times more expensive than steel or aluminum, the price gap is expected to narrow because there is significant room for increasing production of the new material, according to the report.
If successful, the efforts will help produce lighter vehicles than can also improve fuel efficiency and reduce emissions.

Successful mass production would also be a big leap in the evolution of the automotive industry, as although it is tough and light, carbon fiber’s high costs currently limit its usage to concept cars and a select few high-end sports vehicles.

2008 All new Nissan Teana real life pictures

2008-07-27T19:09:00.000-07:00

2008 Aston Martin DBS vs. 2009 Ferrari 599GTB Fiorano

2008-07-26T08:09:00.000-07:00

Two-Car Libido Enhancer: What you get for $266,350 or $385,419 are babe magnets, but minus the whole point: the back seats.

Should you get on Jeopardy! here’s the likely question to the answer, “A very popular video game about racing”: What is Gran Turismo? Well, that’s one answer.

Gran turismo (or grand touring) is a term cooked up by car-crazy Italians ages ago to describe an automobile that could do it all. A GT combined the handling and high performance of a sports car with the ability to transport two grown-ups and their luggage in comfort across great distances. In the process, GTs also became synonymous with power and beauty, all the way back to the Alfa Romeo 8C-2900B coupes of the 1930s. Generally, GTs are front-engine because that way they have a usable trunk and good visibility. GTs are special, too, often the most glamorous cars their makers produce and among the most expensive.

Which brings us to the two cars you see here, the Ferrari 599GTB Fiorano and the Aston Martin DBS, both of which embody the modern meaning of GT.

The Aston Martin is the newer of these two vehicles. It was introduced at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Élégance in August 2007 but didn’t go on sale in the U.S. until earlier this summer. The name pays homage to the crisply styled coupe from 1967, and it is, essentially, a more muscular, faster, and more expensive version of the DB9 that has been on sale since 2005.

Underpinning the DBS’s sleek lines is Aston’s so-called VH aluminum architecture that also provides the bare bones for the DB9 and the V-8 Vantage. A new cross-dashboard supporting beam, a front strut crossbrace, and solid mounting of the rear subframe are among the modifications to the structure. To reduce weight, the trunk enclosure and lid, the door-opening surrounds, the hood, and the front fenders are made from carbon fiber.

Compared with the DB9, the DBS’s track is 0.7 inch wider at the front and 0.8 inch at the rear, and the car sits 0.4 inch higher. Thanks to the use of the carbon-fiber panels and carbon-ceramic brakes, the DBS, at 3820 pounds, is 220 pounds lighter than the last DB9 we tested.

It’s somewhat more powerful, with 510 horsepower (versus 470 in the DB9). Aston has found 40 additional ponies from its 5.9-liter V-12 by fitting revised cylinder heads and a new intake manifold. Torque of 420 pound-feet is down by 23, peaking slightly higher, at 5750 rpm, although no fewer than 369 lb-ft are on hand from 2000 rpm. The power is transmitted via a rear-mounted six-speed Graziano manual transaxle, one of the options on the DB9.

The DBS has a control-arm suspension all around, but an adaptive damping system is unique to this car. It uses two separate valves that allow the shocks to have five different damping levels, determined by an electronic control unit reacting to throttle and brake-pedal position, steering-wheel angle, and vehicle speed. A special track mode locks the shocks in their firmest setting. The stability control also has been upgraded, with a competitive driving mode that allows some sideways action before the electronics intervene. The system also can be switched off completely. The carbon-ceramic brakes are a first for Aston Martin and are 15.7 inches in diameter up front, 14.2 inches out back (the same as the Ferrari’s).

The changes are costly, with the base price rising from $168,950 for a DB9 to a whopping $266,350 for a DBS. With Infa Red paint (specific to our test car) and an alarm upgrade, our tester stickered at $270,430.

The Ferrari 599GTB went on sale in the U.S. last spring as a replacement for the 550/575 series that had been in production since 1996. Ferrari has since sold about 500 599s. The base price is $318,045, although we suspect that most of them sticker for a lot more on the evidence of this optioned-out $385,419 tester. Items such as the $26,000 paint job, the $1776 Ferrari fender badges, and $12,547 of interior carbon-fiber trim must make the beancounters happy.

Like the DBS, the 599 has aluminum underpinnings and body panels and also features a hi-po, large-capacity V-12. In this case, the detuned Enzo unit displaces 6.0 liters, makes a solid 612 horsepower, and drives through Ferrari’s F1 SuperFast automated manual transmission.

Ferrari also resorts to electronics to balance the tricky equation between sports-car handling and the kind of ride comfort that will allow owners to use their cars as grand tourers. In this case, the 599 uses electromagnetic shocks, their calibration partly controlled by the manettino, a five-position rotary switch on the steering wheel that also governs shift speed and traction- and stability-control settings.

Over roads as diverse as L.A.’s clogged freeways to the nearly empty two-lanes that spear through the Anza-Borrego Desert, we wrung out both of these gorgeous machines. Here’s what we discovered.

Mitsubishi developing low-priced car for chinese and thailand market

2008-07-24T19:09:00.000-07:00

Japan’s Mitsubishi Motors says it is developing a low-priced car to be sold in China and Thailand as well as in the European market.

The car, expected to be priced at below one million yen ($9,650), would be based on a 660cc platform that is currently used only in Japan, Reuters quoted the company’s President, Osamu Masuko, as saying at the Beijing Auto Show.

The low-priced car was expected to be launched in 2010 in Japan, but the auto-maker has decided to extend the car’s sales to overseas markets, especially China, which could eventually become the supplier of Mitsubishi cars to other countries, Masuko said.

He added that the company aimed to increase engine production in China from 470,000 units a year to 900,000 over ’several years’ to match the country’s rising demand for cars.

China’s passenger-car sales surged 22 percent to a record 6.3 million units last year as economic expansion makes cars more affordable.

However, the auto-maker has predicted its US sales to fall by 10,000 units in 2008.

Honda OSM lightweight and low emission sport car concept

2008-07-23T21:59:00.000-07:00

Honda’s low-emission sportscar study model has been revealed at the British International Motor Show, at ExCeL, London.

The lightweight roadster design study displays one of Honda’s core engineering principles – to design stylish and exciting cars that are also environmentally responsible.

Named the OSM (for Open Study Model), the two-seater joins the confirmed-for-production CR-Z sports hybrid and FCX Clarity hydrogen fuel cell car on the Honda stand at the show.

“We’re trying to show that low emission cars can be attractive,” says Andreas Sittel, Project Leader for OSM. “There is no reason why a car that’s more environmentally friendly can’t look great too – and be sporty and fun to drive.”

The concept for the project was ‘Clean and Dynamic’ – and this direction was followed for both the exterior and interior design, ensuring a joined-up, consistent ‘language’ between the two. One example of this can be seen at the rear of the car, where the body actually extends into the cabin between the seats.

The exterior design is a balance of smooth, rounded curves and sharp lines to provide definition in key areas. The headlights are cleverly integrated into the front end, stretching from the nose to the top of the wheel arches to look more like a part of the original body.

Inside, this uninterrupted, fluid approach is continued, with long sweeping curves extending from both door panels to form a frame for the instrument display. The concept for the dashboard was to avoid creating the traditional block of ‘heavy’ colour and material in front of the driver; in keeping with the clean and lightweight theme. For that reason, the dash is broken into sections, with the most important instruments in direct line-of-sight of the driver.

Key information is displayed in a rounded, enclosed central binnacle, with levels and figures in bright blue on a black background. This matches the trim inside the car, with the seats and door furniture trimmed in a new, gloss-effect blue leather, accompanied by white leather sections, in line with the exterior body colour, a one-off paint called Mystic Pearl.

The driver’s main controls and functions are distributed in an intuitive layout, close at hand on a panel that curves downwards to the right of the driver. A centrally-mounted semi-sequential gear-shift points towards a fun-to-drive transmission, along with paddle shifts either side of the steering wheel. Integrated into the gearshifter itself is a red ignition ‘start’ button, which reinforces the sporty direction of the car.

The Honda OSM was designed by Honda’s R&D facility in Offenbach, Germany. It’s the latest example of the young talent being developed within Honda’s design studios in Europe – following the Honda Small Hybrid Sports Concept (Geneva 2007) and the Accord Tourer Concept (Frankfurt 2007).

At present, the Honda OSM is a design study model, and there are no plans for it to enter production.

2008 Mitsubishi Pajero Sport interior and test drive in thailand

2008-07-23T18:33:00.000-07:00

2008 Mitsubishi Pajero Sport was taken photograph in Thailand for domestic Dealers.

Think City going to US Market at 2009

2008-07-22T07:25:00.000-07:00

The Think City electric car, which has a top speed of 65 mph and a 110-mile range, is expected to be available in the United States in 2009.

A Norwegian automaker backed by Silicon Valley investors plans to sell in the United States an electric car that goes 110 miles without a charge and costs less than $25,000.

The company, Think Global, annnounced Monday that two venture capital firms with Silicon Valley roots are funding the U.S. operation: RockPort Capital Partners, and Kleiner, Perkins, Caufield & Byers.

Think North America is likely to be based in Southern California and the cars will be assembled locally, the partners said.

They intend to put the first model on the market by the end of 2009.

The car, named Think City, is a two-seater with a top speed of about 65 mph, the company said. It runs on sodium batteries and is 95 percent recyclable.

Only a few major automakers, including Nissan Motor Co. and Mitsubishi Motor Co., have announced plans to make all-electric cars

Spyshots Toyota Innova facelift or minorchange in indonesia

2008-07-21T02:11:00.000-07:00

Mitsubishi Motors Confirms the next generetion of G-wagon or Montero sport to is Pajero Sport will sell in 2008-2009

2008-07-21T02:04:00.000-07:00

Mitsubishi Motors Corporation will unveil its new Pajero Sport*1 SUV model at the Moscow Auto Salon 2008 (The Moscow Motor Show) to be held at the Crocus Expo in Moscow between August 26 and September 7 (opens to the public on August 29). The new Pajero Sport will be phased in selected regions*2 such as Russia, the ASEAN area, the Middle East, Latin America and Oceania starting in the fall this year.

*1 The model will carry a different name in different markets: Montero Sport in South America, Nativa in Latin America and Challenger in Australia.
*2 The new Pajero Sport will neither be sold in Central & Western Europe nor in North America, where other types of SUVs are favored.

The new Pajero Sport features dynamic and sporty exterior lines, complemented by a stylish and vast interior space that engenders a sense of comfort, purpose and safety. This cabin, available in either a 2-row (5-passenger) or 3-row (7-passenger) seating configuration is also very practical with water-repellent seats and a waterproof luggage compartment floor, ideal for leisure use.

Mitsubishi’s latest SUV will be powered by a choice of three engines which all deliver outstanding motive performance and fuel economy: 2.5-liter and 3.2-liter common rail direct injection diesel units and a 3.5-liter V6 gasoline unit*3.

In terms of architecture, the body of the Pajero Sport is mounted on a new ladder frame to realize high levels of durability and reliability, consistent with the needs of its target markets.

Mitsubishi’s All Wheel Control philosophy, forged through its participation in the Dakar Rally and other contests, informs all of the company’s 4WD systems. The new model will use the Super Select 4WD system, also used in the Pajero*4 SUV, which transmits drive torque effectively to all four wheels on all types of surface. The body, frame and driveline not only give Pajero Sport outstanding off-road performance but allow it to deliver excellent drive dynamics over all surfaces.

The choice of the Moscow Motor Show to unveil the new Pajero Sport is a clear indication of Russia’s eminent position within Mitsubishi Motors. In fiscal 2007 Mitsubishi Motors sold some 100,000 vehicles on the Russian market, boosted by the ever successful Lancer line-up and a popular range of SUVs.

MMC is confident that the new Pajero Sport SUV will make a strong addition to its SUV range, which also includes the Pajero and Outlander. Coming on the heels of the introduction of the Lancer*5 sports sedan last year, this will allow MMC to expand SUV sales and hit a total sales volume of 140,000 units on the Russian market in fiscal 2008.
*3 Russian-spec vehicle will only be available with the 3.2-liter diesel engine and 2-row, 5-passenger capacity seating arrangement.
*4 “Montero” in Spanish-speaking countries and “Shogun’ in the UK.
*5 Galant Fortis in Japan.

MMC will hold its Press Briefing at the Mitsubishi Motors stand at 17:20 on Tuesday August 26.

Bajaj-Renault-Nissan JV to build electric vehicles range

2008-07-17T18:20:00.000-07:00

The Bajaj-Renault-Nissan alliance could extend beyond the ‘ultra low-cost car’ (ULC) to include a range of electric vehicles. Nissan-Renault boss Carlos Ghosn recently announced that he plans to start mass production of electric vehicles as part of his strategy to boost demand, which is now sluggish due to high fuel prices.
According to sources in the vendor circuit, Nissan-Renault may look at its ULC alliance with Bajaj for affordable production of e-vehicles. When contacted, Bajaj Auto MD Rajiv Bajaj refused to comment. If the Bajaj-Renault-Nissan alliance does get into e-vehicles, it will be one more segment, apart from the Nano, where the combine will have a face-off with the Tatas.

Tata Motors has entered into an arrangement with Chrysler to develop an electric version of the Ace light truck for sale in North America. Chrysler’s Global Electric Motorcars section will import the fully-built vehicles for sale in the US. It isn’t clear whether the Bajaj-Renault-Nissan combine will build e-versions of the light truck that Bajaj displayed at the Auto Expo this year. Bajaj has been keen to extend its relationship with Renault to light commercial vehicles as well.
Portfolio of products
Bajaj and Nissan Renault are already negotiating to extend their ULC partnership beyond a single car. The alliance will spawn an entire portfolio of products from cars to multi-purpose, multi-seater vehicles. There would be different products, and not just variants of the same product, at different price points. The multi-product plan ties in neatly with the ULC platform, which is flexible.
Nissan Renault is focusing on low-cost production centres like India and Morocco to shore up margins and cut manufacturing costs. The combine is already developing its first electric car in Israel, which it hopes to mass market by 2011. The steep rise in gasoline prices has upped the interest in electric and hybrid vehicles globally. All the big names in the business are betting on this technology for future growth. GM, for instance, has announced commercial production of its electric concept Volt.
Chrysler, which showcased green concepts ecoVoyager, Dodge ZEO and Jeep Renegade at the Detroit auto show in January, has indicated it will roll out electric cars in three to five years. Toyota, whose Prius hybrid is the American best-seller, is looking to sell over a million units by 2011-12 and even Ford is looking at the e-vehicle route to stem falling sales of its gas-guzzler trucks and SUVs.
Source : economictimes india

Mazda Kazamai Concept to Premiere at Moscow International Automobile Salon 2008

2008-07-16T19:26:00.000-07:00

Mazda will unveil a sporty, compact crossover concept vehicle, Mazda Kazamai, at the Moscow International Automobile Salon (MIAS) on August 26. Kazamai, which means “swirling crosswinds” in Japanese, expresses the powerful yet nimble image of a stylish and compact crossover. The concept is based on Mazda’s long-term vision for technology development, Sustainable Zoom-Zoom, which aims to provide a unique balance between sporty driving fun and superior environmental and safety performance. Kazamai will be joined at MIAS by the Russian debut of Mazda’s CX-9 SUV, which was crowned 2008 North American Truck of the Year in February.

The Kazamai concept further evolves Mazda’s ‘Nagare’ design language by fusing Nagare’s ‘flow’ design cues with aerodynamic proportions. The design features panel lines inspired by crosswinds in nature which evoke visual lightness. Its bold five-point grille, accentuated front wheel arches and sleek roof line, combined with large 22-inch wheels, lend it high emotional appeal.

Sporty to look at, Kazamai is meant to be spirited and fun to drive, with compact dimensions. Kazamai’s four-wheel drive powertrain will consist of a next-generation direct injection engine and a newly developed transmission. It is also aerodynamic, with an evolved lightweight body structure and enhanced the vehicle safety attributes. Were it to be built, Mazda’s latest show car would deliver exciting driving dynamics, frugal fuel consumption and greatly reduced CO2 emissions.

SAVE THE FUTURE, GO GREEN

2008-07-13T23:46:00.001-07:00

The 3rd Indonesia International Automotive Conference (3rd IIAC):
SAVE THE FUTURE, GO GREEN
Jakarta, 12 July 2008

Keeping up a balance and compatibility between economic growth and environment preservation presents a great challenge to developing countries. Yoshiyasu Nao, President and Vice Chairman of Japan Automobile Manufacturer Association (JAMA) pointed out the above issue in front of the participants of the 3rd Indonesia International Automotive Conference (IIAC) today (12/7) at Grand Melia Hotel, Jakarta.

Carrying 'Save the Future, Go Green' as theme theme, the 3rd Indonesia International Automotive Conference (The 3rd IIAC) organized by Gaikindo is an integral part of the 16th Indonesia International Motor Show (IIMS) 2008.

Economic growth in a developing countries such as Indonesia is typically accompanied by expanded motorization and the increased of vehicle on the road, which causes increased energy consumption and, as a result, increases CO2 emissions that contributes to global warming. In other words, economic growth - that gives positive signs of development also presents significant potential environment problems. Yoshiyasu, therefore, pointed out that basic issues to be addressed in road transport sector should provides solution to answer 3 major challenges: improving air quality (through a significant reduction of tailpipe-emitted pollutants), countering global warming (through a significant reduction of CO2 emissions), and conserving energy (through new energy policies for the oil-dependent transport sector such as the development and supply of alternative fuels).

In line with Yoshiyasu Nao, Edi Putra Irawadi, the Deputy Minister for Industry and Trade Affairs who representing Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs, highlighted government policies, including Presidential Instruction no 5 / 2008 on the Focus of Economic Program for the year 2008-2009 which covers 7 issues, one of which on improvement of investment climate and energy sustainability.

As the Country Coordinator for the automotive sector in ASEAN Economic Community (AEC), Indonesia is challenged to generate provision of policy and development strategies to create domestic automotive industry with regional competitiveness. Government appreciates Gaikindo for its effort in synergizing domestic automotive industry.

Bambang Trisulo, Chairman of GAIKINDO in his welcome and opening remark hopes the conference will propose valuable insights on economic, industry and investment sector which, in time, can generate future policies and guidelines to adress the current global issues, especially environment protection and energy crisis.

Speaking in this conference were also Budi Darmadi, Director General for Transportation Equipment and ICT Industries, Martin Djamin, Expert Staff of Minister of Research and Technology on Alternative and Renewal Energy , and Ahmad Kurniadi represents M Luthfi, Chairman of Indonesian Investment Coordinating Board (BPKM).

The 16th Indonesia International Motor Show 2008

2008-07-13T23:40:00.000-07:00

WELCOME!

Join us and be part of a thrilling experience that goes beyond borders, The 16th Indonesia International Motor Show 2008. This year exhibition will be bigger than ever, bringing all together indoor and outdoor activities to ensure that you'll discover the excitement of Indonesian automotive industry within the 10 days exhibition.

General Information

1. Venue
Jakarta Convention Center
(Hall A, Pre-Function Hall A, Hall B, Pre-Function Hall B, Connecting between Hall A & B, Main Lobby, Assembly Hall, Plenary Hall, Cendrawasih Hall and Temporary Hall)

2. Event's Date
July 11th - 20th, 2008

3. Opening Hours
Date Open Close
11 July 2008 Press & VIP Day
(Invitation & Registered Press only) Press & VIP Day

12 July 2008-20 july 2008 10.00 22.00

*Any change of place and/or time of exhibition shall be informed at the latest 30 (thirty) days before the date of exhibition.

4. Host
GAIKINDO
(Gabungan Industri Kendaraan Bermotor Indonesia Association of Indonesian Automotive Industries)

5. Organizer
PT. Dyandra Promosindo

6. Ticket*

The exhibition is open for public with an Admission fee for one person per visit
Day Price
Monday to Thursday Rp. 30.000
(thirty thousands rupiah)
Friday to Sunday Rp. 35.000
(thirty five thousands rupiah)

* All purchased tickets are eligible for a lucky draw at the end of the exhibition to win some prizes and a car as the grand prize.
Free Admission for : < 2 years and > 65 years old

Specification Revealing of Nissan March 2009 Next Generetion

2008-07-13T20:56:00.000-07:00

current nissan march not be all new

The 2009 Next Nissan March (w02a codename)are put all new innovative fuel efficiency engine 1.0 litre 3 cylinder as lowest model pairs with xtronicCVT make 30 km/litre surprisingly enough fighting to Toyota Passo and Toyota Yaris.Improved 1.2 litre and 1.5 litre pairs with xtronicCVT to be more fuel consumption to fighting to Honda Fit/Jazz,Toyota Yaris,Mazda Demio,Suzuki Swift

The Low priced strategy competitive to used for sale decrease crisis in japan.The low end option of new march 2009 will below 1,000,000 Yen

Launching time

Japan - April 2009

Thailand,China (LCC) - September 2009

India - Early to middle 2010

Suzuki Alto model change outline leaked

2008-07-11T02:36:00.000-07:00

Spying on Suzuki Alto model change

Leaked Pictures of BMW 3-series 2008 facelift

2008-07-11T02:24:00.000-07:00

Spying on New BMW 3-Series 2008

Japanese car sales of June 2008

2008-07-07T01:46:00.000-07:00

1.Honda Fit/Jazz 14,702
2.Toyota Corolla 12,930
3.Toyota Vitz 9,854
4.Toyota Crown 8,426
5.Nissan Serena 6,715
6.Toyota Passo 6,707
7.Toyota Prius 6,231
8.Suzuki Swift 5,510
9.Nissan Tiida 5,426
10.Honda Freed 5,331
11.Mazda Demio/2 5,262
12.Toyota Voxy 5,186
13.Toyota Alphard 4,983
14.Nissan Note 4,974
15.Toyota Estima 4,880
16.Nissan March 4,855
17.Toyota Vellfire 4,855
18.Nissan Teana 4,662
19.Toyota Noah 4,602
20.Honda StepWGN 4,071
21.Toyota Ractis 3,960
22.Nissan Cube 3,357
23.Toyota Sienta 3,162
24.Honda Stream 3,079
25.Toyota Wish 2,869
26.Toyota Porte 2,848
27.Toyota Mark-X 2,626
28.Toyota Isis 2,606
29.Toyota bB 2,521
30.Toyota Allion 2,419

source : jada.or.jp

Gallery of 2008 toyota fortuner minorchange leaked true color picture

2008-07-04T01:41:00.000-07:00

a new headlamp design and new front grille looks tough emotion

transparent light indicator

Mitsubishi Motors unveils Lancer Sportback at Paris Motor Show

2008-07-02T23:47:00.000-07:00

Mitsubishi Motors Corporation will unveil, for the first time at an international motor show, the Lancer Sportback at the Le Mondial de l’Automobile 2008 (Paris Motor Show 2008) being held in Halls 1-8 of the Paris Expo Porte de Versailles from October 2 (October 4 for the general public) through October 19. The Lancer Sportback will have its European launch this fall with a phased introduction into the various countries in the region.

The company will also be displaying the Lancer Ralliart and Lancer Sportback Ralliart models that are based on the Lancer*1 sports sedan and Lancer Sportback. These models are powered by a turbocharged engine mated to Mitsubishi’s Twin Clutch SST (Sport Shift Transmission) and delivering power to all four wheels through an Active Center Differential.

New Mazda Crosswinds Concept Car to Premiere at 2008 Moscow International Automobile Salon

2008-07-02T23:42:00.001-07:00

June 16th, 2008 — Auto show / Motor Show, mazda

Mazda will present an all-new show car at this year’s Moscow International Automobile Salon. The concept is a sporty, compact crossover SUV designed especially for the Russian market.The Moscow show car is the latest concept to be developed using the new design direction called Nagare – following in the footsteps of Nagare, Ryuga, Hakaze, Taiki and Furai. Nagare, which means “flow” in Japanese, represents a new approach to expressing movement in car design, taking as inspiration the flow patterns of natural elements, such as the wind. The design theme of Mazda’s concept for the 2008 Moscow motor show is “crosswinds”.

Mitsubishi Motors announces new corporate tagline

2008-07-02T21:41:00.000-07:00

Corporate logo with new tagline (for overseas markets)

Second, Drive@earth means a new emphasis on environmental issues. It is the simple recognition that no enterprise — automotive or otherwise — makes sense without the context of a healthy planet. With climate change and dwindling oil reserves on the minds of drivers around the world, automakers have a special responsibility. MMC sets as its ideal the synergy between dynamic and environmental performance, and will continue to develop technologies — such as the zero-emissions i MiEV electric vehicle — that show as much care for the environment outside as for the occupants within.

The new tagline acts as a bridge between the company’s heritage and its future. Launched in this, the first year of MMC’s post-revitalization business plan, Drive@earth is an announcement of the company’s renewed focus, and a symbol of its intention to build a new era of sustainable partnership.

30 Japanese car sale of May 2008 ranking

2008-07-02T01:33:00.000-07:00

June 19th, 2008 — Auto Sale Ranking

1.Honda Fit/Jazz 11,461
2.Toyota Corolla (axio,Rumion,fielder) 11,377
3.Toyota Vitz 8,078
4.Toyota Crown 7,797
5.Toyota Passo 5,755
6.Toyota Prius 5,079
7.Mazda 2/Demio 4,873
8.Toyota Voxy 4,710
9.Nissan Serena 4,588
10.Nissan Tiida (5 doors) 4,365
11.Suzuki Swift 4,103
12.Toyota Noah 3,972
13.Nissan Note 3,881
14.Toyota Estima 3,778
15.Toyota Ractis 3,506
16.Toyota Alphard 3,446
17.Honda Stream 3,287
18.Honda StepWGN 2,947
19.Toyota Vellfire 2,911
20.Toyota Wish 2,723
21.Toyota Mark-X 2,720
22.Nissan Cube 2,649
23.Toyota Sienta 2,574
24.Nissan March 2,540
25.Toyota bB 2,302
26.Toyota Porte 2,188
27.Toyota Premio 2,174
28.Subaru Legacy 2,078
29.Mazda Premacy 1,929
30.Toyota Allion 1,862

Source : jada.or.jp